As It Is In Heaven

The youth band at my parish plays a modified version of this Matt Maher song. I always find it very moving. The following video has some great images. Enjoy.

Christ is Risen

Let all Pious men and all lovers of God rejoice in the splendor of this feast; let the wise servants blissfully enter into the joy of their Lord; let those who have borne the burden of Lent now receive their pay, and those who have toiled since the first hour, let them now receive their due reward; let any who came after the third hour be grateful to join in the feast, and those who may have come after the sixth, let them not be afraid of being too late, for the Lord is gracious and He receives the last even as the first. He gives rest to him who comes on the eleventh hour as well as to him who has toiled since the first: yes, He has pity on the last and He serves the first; He rewards the one and is generous to the other; he repays the deed and praises the effort.

Come you all: enter into the joy of your Lord. You the first and you the last, receive alike your reward; you rich and you poor, dance together; you sober and you weaklings, celebrate the day; you who have kept the fast and you who have not, rejoice today. The table is richly loaded: enjoy its royal banquet. The calf is a fatted one: let no one go away hungry. All of you enjoy the banquet of faith; all of you receive the riches of his goodness.

Let no one grieve over his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed; let no one weep over his sins, for pardon has shone from the grave; let no one fear death, for the death of our Savior has set us free: He has destroyed it by enduring it, He has despoiled Hades by going down into its kingdom, He has angered it by allowing it to taste of his flesh.

When Isaiah foresaw all this, he cried out: "O Hades, you have been angered by encountering Him in the nether world." Hades is angered because frustrated, it is angered because it has been mocked, it is angered because it has been destroyed, it is angered because it has been reduced to naught, it is angered because it is now captive. It seized a body, and lo! it discovered God; it seized earth, and, behold! it encountered heaven; it seized the visible, and was overcome by the invisible.

O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? Christ is risen and life is freed, Christ is risen and the tomb is emptied of the dead: for Christ, being risen from the dead, has become the Leader and Reviver of those who had fallen asleep. To Him be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

---Easter homily of St. John Chrysostom (A.D. 347-407)

Celebrate His Death!

Why do we do this every year? Why do we celebrate betrayal, abandonment, and brutality. Why do we attend this Good Friday’s party of violence?

Our celebration of Christ’s Passion on Good Friday is as perverse an event as any we might conjure. Or, it would be if we were to settle for watching from the crowd, coolly watching events as they unfold. It is not enough to observe. Not enough to stand behind the crowd not caring. Our apathy, our lack of passion for Christ’s suffering and death for us, that will make today’s celebration truly perverse.

Rejoice then with each rip in His flesh. Rejoice with each drop of blood. Rejoice at the anguish of his betrayal, at the sting of his abandonment. Rejoice that He freely accepted this pain for you, instead of you. Rejoice! Or, cry. Or laugh. Or love Him more. But do not fall into the loneliness of not caring—that Pit is a Darkness older than humanity, and It is desperately hungry for your soul.

Read the rest.

That's All The Lumber You Sent

The lyrics of this Ceili Rain song make an excellent Ash Wednesday reflection.

Welcome to Lent. Make it a good one.


Said a friend to a friend one day:
Was a man who passed away
St. Peter met him at the gate
Pete said: "Walk with me if you will
I'll take you to the house you built"
Man said: "I can't wait!

Passed a mansion made of stone
But with each new house he's shown
They get smaller by degrees
Stopped in front of a two-room shack
Pete said: "Hope you're happy with that"
Man said: "How can this be?" -- Pete said:

"That's all the lumber -- that's all the lumber
That's all the lumber you sent.
Looks like the builder --
man, he's got your number
That's all the lumber you sent."

Man didn't know what to say
Poor guy was blown away
Said: "You mean this is what I deserve?
Pete said: "I'm afraid it's so
It's too late but now you know
Shoulda done better work

Man said: "You mean not lie and cheat
And helpin' old ladies 'cross the street?
Pete says: "Well, that's a start
Remember that man back in that great big house?
He found out early what it's all about
Built that place with his heart
-- as for you...

That's all the lumber -- that's all the lumber
That's all the lumber you sent
Looks like the builder --
man, he's got your number
That's all the lumber you sent

What if that man was me
And I failed that miserably
You're showin' me things I don't wanna see!

St. Peter if you can
Send me back to earth again
Is that somethin' you can do?
Pete said: "It ain't up to me
If it was I'd like to see
How you plan to improve.

Said "I'd love God and fellow man
Take a wife and make a stand
Be the given'est guy I can be
And when I get back to this neighborhood
There'd be a gigantic pile o' wood!
And I'd say: "What's this I see?" --
and you'll tell me

"All that's your lumber -- all that's your lumber
That's all the lumber you sent
Now the Big Boss will help you
hammer it all together --
That's all the lumber you sent."

Amazing Grace

Here is a stirring performance of Amazing Grace, including bagpipes.



The singers are a group called Il Divo. If it looks like they are in the Roman Colosseum, you're half right. They are in a Roman Colosseum, but in Pula, Croatia, not Rome. It's nice to see what was probably a place of martyrdom for some early Christians now put to much better use.

(Hat tip: Steve Ray)

Using The Moment

Wisdom from Mark Shea:

Paul didn’t simply use Caesar for protection. He also sought to teach Caesar about Christ. Paul did not hesitate to speak to the civil authority about Christ and call him, like everybody else, to faith in Christ Jesus.

Paul looked at arrest and imprisonment as just another opportunity to spread the Gospel to whatever corner he found himself in. From Philippian jailers to Roman governors to the court of Caesar himself, Paul repeatedly grabbed hold of whatever life tossed his way and turned it to the spread of the Gospel. When he found himself on a storm-tossed ship driven toward destruction, he used the moment to bear witness to Christ — which astonished his guards. Washed ashore on Malta, his first impulse was to evangelize.

Immersed in a pagan culture that did nothing but talk about the latest ideas and, to hedge its bets, worship the unknown god, Paul took that as his cue to testify to Christ. [more]

Prayer at Ground Zero

Here is the text of the prayer Pope Benedict XVI delivered at the World Trade Center on Sunday.

O God of love, compassion, and healing,
look on us, people of many different faiths and traditions,
who gather today at this site,
the scene of incredible violence and pain.

We ask you in your goodness
to give eternal light and peace
to all who died here—
the heroic first-responders:
our fire fighters, police officers,
emergency service workers, and Port Authority personnel,
along with all the innocent men and women
who were victims of this tragedy
simply because their work or service
brought them here on September 11, 2001.

We ask you, in your compassion
to bring healing to those
who, because of their presence here that day,
suffer from injuries and illness.
Heal, too, the pain of still-grieving families
and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy.
Give them strength to continue their lives with courage and hope.

We are mindful as well
of those who suffered death, injury, and loss
on the same day at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Our hearts are one with theirs
as our prayer embraces their pain and suffering.

God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world:
peace in the hearts of all men and women
and peace among the nations of the earth.
Turn to your way of love
those whose hearts and minds
are consumed with hatred.

God of understanding,
overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy,
we seek your light and guidance
as we confront such terrible events.
Grant that those whose lives were spared
may live so that the lives lost here
may not have been lost in vain.
Comfort and console us,
strengthen us in hope,
and give us the wisdom and courage
to work tirelessly for a world
where true peace and love reign
among nations and in the hearts of all.

Note carefully this line: Turn to your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred. Christ told us to pray for our enemies. Not many of us do it, and even fewer of us do it publicly. Another good example set by Benedict.

Here is another nice reflection from Time magazine.

"Truth Is Not An Imposition"

Pope Benedict XVI is now winging his way back to Rome. With the immediate excitement over, we are left to ponder the messages he brought. Smarter people than me will dissect every word he said. My guess is that his message at the Youth Rally in New York will go down as the highlight of his trip.

Early in the speech the German Pope made an unusual reference to his own life:

My own years as a teenager were marred by a sinister regime that thought it had all the answers; its influence grew – infiltrating schools and civic bodies, as well as politics and even religion – before it was fully recognized for the monster it was. It banished God and thus became impervious to anything true and good. Many of your grandparents and great-grandparents will have recounted the horror of the destruction that ensued. Indeed, some of them came to America precisely to escape such terror.

From there he went on to describe the dangers of darkness, the false promises of "freedom," and the hope that is Truth.

Have you noticed how often the call for freedom is made without ever referring to the truth of the human person? Some today argue that respect for freedom of the individual makes it wrong to seek truth, including the truth about what is good. In some circles to speak of truth is seen as controversial or divisive, and consequently best kept in the private sphere. And in truth’s place – or better said its absence – an idea has spread which, in giving value to everything indiscriminately, claims to assure freedom and to liberate conscience. This we call relativism.

But what purpose has a “freedom” which, in disregarding truth, pursues what is false or wrong? How many young people have been offered a hand which in the name of freedom or experience has led them to addiction, to moral or intellectual confusion, to hurt, to a loss of self-respect, even to despair and so tragically and sadly to the taking of their own life? Dear friends, truth is not an imposition. Nor is it simply a set of rules. It is a discovery of the One who never fails us; the One whom we can always trust. In seeking truth we come to live by belief because ultimately truth is a person: Jesus Christ. That is why authentic freedom is not an opting out. It is an opting in; nothing less than letting go of self and allowing oneself to be drawn into Christ’s very being for others (cf. Spe Salvi, 28).

Benedict draws a distinction - too often forgotten in our culture - between freedom and license. Authentic freedom is not simply an escape from rules; it is the ability to move toward something positive, something good, something better than what we leave behind.

It's encouraging that thousands of young people listened to this message with rapt attention. Yet millions more did not. They need to hear the truth, because it is the only thing that will set them free. Here is the full transcript. I highly suggest you read it all.

The Rock Holds Firm

Those who expected Benedict XVI, aka "God's Rotweiler," to spend his time in the U.S. snarling at heretics must be sorely disappointed. He is instead doing something much more powerful, and in the end far more effective: speaking truth with love. Without compromising the truth, he has called all who listen to something higher, something that transcends the little squabbles we all get caught up in.

The squabble are still important, of course. By his very presence, I think the Pope demonstrates that on fundamental matters of faith and morals, the Church will never change. Some in the media recognize this:

But to ask Benedict to change the church's rules to suit modern appetites and lifestyles is to ask that he forsake the sanctity of human life for the benefit of earthly delights. Those are not his concerns.

Even for non-Catholics like me, there's something comforting about a stubborn pope in a world of moral relativity. Like a strong father, he ignores his children's pleas for leniency knowing that his rules, though tough, serve a higher purpose.

"Stubborn" is probably not the best word to use here. "Faithful" is more accurate. Yet the writer should not be surprised. The reason the Pope is as solid as a rock is that the Papacy is built on a rock.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." [Matthew 16:13-19]

Peter went on to become the first Bishop of Rome - the Pope. Almost two thousand years later, Benedict XVI is Bishop of Rome # 266. For all that time the Rock has held firm. Sure, it's been chipped, scratched, tarnished over the centuries. But is has not been overcome, nor will it be. The Lord Himself told us so.

Amid all of life's troubles, pain and disappointment, Benedict reminds us of one thing we know for sure: the Gates of Hell don't stand a chance.

World's Largest Church

From Abu Daoud comes this strange and interesting story about the largest church in the world. I had no idea such a place even existed. It is the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro, located in Ivory Coast, Africa. As you can see from the picture, it is very large and quite magnificent. There are 7,000 seats inside, room for 30,000 to stand in the plaza, and space for another 300,000 people outside. It origins are even more unusual. From Wikipedia:

Côte d'Ivoire President Félix Houphouët-Boigny chose his birthplace of Yamoussoukro to be the future site of the new capital city of his country in 1983. As part of the plan of the city, the president wanted to memorialize himself with the construction of what he called the greatest church in the world. As construction was nearly completed, the president commissioned a stained glass window of his image to be placed beside a gallery of stained glass of Jesus and the apostles.

This reminds me of the ancient kings and pharaohs who had vast memorials constructed in their own honor. No matter; it's still a magnificent church. You would think the local people, who are quite poor (and not even Catholic for the most part), would be aghast at such extravagance. Reports suggest they are actually quite proud of it, however. For now it gets little use, but I'll bet the Lord has something in mind for this place.

More photos and information here and here.

Greetings from the Pope

Benedict XVI, who will be visiting the U.S. next week, sends the following video greetings to the American people. I found it interesting to hear him speaking English for more than a few words. Given that he also speaks German, Italian, French, Dutch, Latin and reads Ancient Greek and Hebrew, I think we can excuse the accent. (Transcript) (Video at YouTube)

UPDATE: Peggy Noonan adds an interesting point about Benedict's accent:

Another small fear, born of hearing him last week at the mass. Benedict spoke in many languages including English, which he speaks fluidly and with a strong German accent. This is an accent that 60 years of World War II movies have taught Americans to hear as vaguely sinister, or comic. The nicer commentators may say he sounds like Col. Klink in "Hogan's Heroes." I hope he speaks even more than usual about love, for that may remove the sting, as love does.

Turning The Other Cheek

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you." Luke 6:28-31

A man in New York City gave us a modern-day example to follow, according to this story from NPR. Confronted by a knife-wielding teenager, Julio Diaz handed over his wallet, offered his coat as well, and then invited the mugger to dinner with him. I'm sure many other people have tried this without the happy ending. It worked for Julio, though. (Hat tip: Mark Shea)

Not surprisingly, a Fox News loudmouth named Greg Gutfeld was not impressed. Nor were most of the people who left comments at this post on a New York blog. They make some good points: is taking your mugger really to eat the best way to help him change his ways? Did Julio simply make it easier for someone else to be victimized?

I don't know. What I do know is that the Lord was pretty clear in what He expects from us. Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. These are hard teachings. I, for one, conveniently forget about them at the very times I need them the most. Julio's story is a good reminder that turning the other cheek may be the most powerful weapon we have.

So Grandma Isn't Perfect

Obama's speech about race is drawing rather vicious attacks from Ann Coulter and other conservatives. Before I go on, let me be clear: I disagree with Barack Obama on almost every political issue. I do not want him to be president. I will never vote for him unless he makes some truly dramatic philosophical changes. I think many of his followers are a little wacky.

This, however, does not mean I automatically disagree with every word Obama says simply because he is the one saying it. The truth is the truth, even when it comes from the mouth of someone who is not part of my Tribe and with whom I have many other disagreements.

Speaking of Jeremiah Wright, his stridently opinionated pastor, Obama said this:

As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions – the good and the bad – of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.

I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.

These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.

Coulter uses this to accuse Obama of "throwing Grandma under the bus." Does this really make sense? I think of my own late grandfather. I heard him say things about black people that I thought, even as a child, didn't sound right. I've now learned they were absolutely wrong. Yet I loved him dearly. I know he wasn't perfect, and I don't respect him any less because of it. I think I understand how he came to have such attitudes. It was hard to think otherwise during the formative years of his life. If he were alive today, I would love him even as I disagreed with him.

I suspect most people can relate to this. We all have people in our lives that are close to us, but with whom we have significant differences. We find ways to get past the differences so we can enjoy the positive aspects of these relationships. So I have no problem believing that Obama loved his grandma at the same time he cringed at her remarks - and I don't expect him to disown her.

This is not, of course, the view of most people on the political right. To them, Obama is from the other tribe. He is a threat. He is the enemy, and must therefore be destroyed, whatever it takes. As noted above, I have no political sympathy for Obama, but this Grandma angle is a tactic I choose not to use. A few others agree. Here's Mark Shea:

Sorry, but I don't see that as "throwing grandma under the bus". I see it as pretty much resonating with my own experience of living in community with people who have real faults and sins on their heads. There are members of my family who were quite as unabashed in their racism as Obama's pastor or grandmother. There are people I love and care deeply about who hold opinions I find repellent or kooky. Hell, in my parish there are people with views on everything from Jews to 9/11 conspiracy theories I think are nutty. I've never believed people are binary. I think it's quite possible for the most saintly person to have some thoroughly disgusting streak of wickedness.

Steven Taylor at Poliblog:

To me, this was an intensely honest portion of the speech and one of the best arguments for explaining how Obama could tolerate things that Wright has said. I find the assertions noted above that this was throwing grandma “under the bus” to be a combination of disingenuous and ignorant.

First, this was not sacrificing his Grandmother for some political gain. For crying out loud, in this passage, the man is proclaiming his love for his grandmother, and noting how she is part of him. That is hardly throwing her under the bus–this is biography.

Second, what he is clearly saying is that people we love sometimes say things that we disagree with–even sometimes saying things that we find repugnant–and yet we still love them. What is so hard to understand about that? Now, I will grant that part of the reason I find this to be an honest and easily understandable portion of the speech is that I directly identified with it, as I have had older members of my family say things about race that have made me utterly cringe. Yet, oddly enough, I continued to love them. My guess is that most people have had this experience. As such, there is not bus-throwing here, but rather a simple reflection of a common occurrence in most of our lives.

The conservatives who attack Obama for these things are not helping their cause. They are, instead, allowing ideology to overcome common decency. I prefer the approach of Peggy Noonan, who reviewed Obama's speech and found it "strong, thoughtful and important."

Today is Good Friday, when we recall the suffering and death of One who loved us all, despite our many faults. It's a good time to remember the example Christ gave us. We can disagree with ideas without hating the one who holds them. Personally I have great difficulty with this, but I'm working on it.

A Strategy for Change

The mysterious blogger known only as The Catholic Knight is on a crusade to coax Catholics and other Christians away from the Republican Party. He's been heading that direction for some time, I think, but seemed to turn some kind of corner when it became clear the GOP will nominate McCain this year. In any case, I like the way he's going. Here are some highlights:

The Religious Right is Dead
Pro-Life Third Party
A Proposed Platform for a Christian Democratic Union USA
Crusade for Life in the Democratic Party
America Needs A Three Party System

Here's the heart of the problem: we Christians allowed ourselves to become adjectives instead of nouns. This is why, as the first link above explains, the "Religious Right" as a movement is dead. Well-meaning people who joined the conservative political movement were co-opted into placing the movement ahead of their faith. Too many conservative Christians became Christian conservatives. See the difference?

Now when it comes to the political issue of prime concern to Christians, abortion, the "conservative" political movement is our ally. Unfortunately, that movement also has other priorities that are not necessarily consistent with Christian belief. We (and I have to include myself here) let ourselves be drawn into defending various and sundry other causes because we thought it was necessary to achieve our objectives about abortion and related issues.

In hindsight, it should have been clear where this would lead. Power always corrupts. Always. Many of the Christians who entered politics in the 1980s and 1990s became politicians who happened to be Christian, or at least called themselves such. Quite a few have turned out to be wolves in sheep's clothing.

The way to change this is to stop letting others define our priorities. If we truly live the teachings of Christ, we won't fall into anyone's political box. CK is promoting a third-party strategy, maybe using the Constitution Party as a stepping stone to greater things. There are, unfortunately, plenty of structural barriers in our system that usually restrict third parties to only a spoiler role. This may be all we need, however.

Having said all that, I fear that none of it will work until we do some housecleaning of our own. As I noted recently, our churches have failed to teach and inspire members for many years now. As a result it's not clear to me that a strategy like CK promotes will be able to attract enough support even to be an effective spoiler. Far too many Christians just don't care. Changing this state of affairs will take time - probably decades.

In the meantime, I've said I think Barack Obama will be our next president. Despite his setback last week, I still think it is his to lose at this point. Does it really matter? No. Whether McCain, Clinton or Obama move into the White House next year, bad things are going to happen. Will it mean that God has abandoned us? No - it will mean we abandoned Him.

As happened many times in the Old Testament, God will give his people what they ask for. Like the children of Israel, we won't like it.

Intelligence and Hope for Iraq

Lots of buzz this week about the revelation that US intelligence agencies now believe Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003. This is jarringly inconsistent with Bush Administration efforts to convince us that Iran poses an imminent threat to world peace. Only a few weeks ago the president himself talked about a possible World War III if Iran acquires nuclear weapons.

Partisans on both ends of the spectrum quickly formulated their own explanations how the National Intelligence Estimate (or "NIE" as the cool people call it) could have such a surprising conclusion. War hawks and neoconservatives say it can't possibly be true since Iran is so obviously trying to acquire nukes. They suspect anti-Bush forces in the CIA and State Department are spinning the information to discredit the president's policy. Liberals and Democrats say the opposite: the NIE proves that the Bush Administration was once again trying to lie its way into war and this time got caught with its hand in the cookie jar.

As usual, the truth is probably somewhere in between. We need to keep several things in mind in order to evaluate this story properly. First, we are all operating in a vacuum. Most of the NIE is classified and pundits on both side haven't seen the whole thing. Some reports suggest there is "new information" that caused analysts to reassess their previous conclusions. What they new information is, and whether it even exists, is something none of us know for sure.

Second, this NIE comes from the same intelligence community that thought it was a "slam dunk" that Saddam Hussein had an active nuclear, biological and chemical weapons program in Iraq. For the last few years they've consistently said the same about Iran, until now. I would like to think they couldn't possibly be so spectacularly wrong twice in a row, but stranger things have happened.

Third, it's hard to believe the White House was surprised about this. An NIE is published only after months of dialogue between the CIA, DIA, NSA, State Department, Pentagon, and assorted other agencies. It's not something that sneaks up on you. The president's staff had to know this was coming weeks ago. If they really were blindsided, it suggests that Bush has utterly failed to get control of the intelligence bureaucracy after seven years in office. I'm not sure that even this Administration could be that incompetent.

Fourth, it is exceedingly unusual for an intelligence report to underestimate a threat to the United States. The normal practice is to err on the side of caution and overstate the potential danger. That's what happened all through the Cold War, when we were told that the Soviet Army was a highly-trained, well-equipped disciplined fighting force that could pour across the Fulda Gap and overwhelm NATO anytime it wished. None of this was true, we later learned. Having been there myself, I can assure you the U.S. was extremely worried about it at the time. There must be a serious reason that this NIE breaks the pattern.

So what's going on? I agree with George Friedman at Stratfor.com that the NIE is most likely correct; Iran probably does not have a nuclear weapons program, and never did. There is no doubt they have a nuclear energy program, but that's not surprising. They know as well as we do that the oil won't last forever. Meanwhile nuclear energy for their domestic needs means they can sell more oil for export.

The mullahs who control Iran are many things but they are not stupid. They know that there is little to gain from having nukes except the certainty of complete destruction if they ever used on on Israel or anyone else. There is, however, a lot they can gain from having the world think they are pursuing nuclear weapons. It worked for Saddam, at least until he pushed a little too far. They think they can be The Mouse That Roared.

Friedman points out that the release of the NIE at this particular juncture, intentional or not, solves a thorny geopolitical problem for both the United States and Iran. That problem is Iraq. The U.S. cannot sustain current force levels for much longer. Iran, for its part, cannot allow Iraq to become an American outpost on its border. Some compromise needs to be reached, but that cannot happen as long as the world thinks Iran has nuclear ambitions.

By removing this factor from the equation, the NIE sets the stage for serious discussions between the U.S. and Iran about the Iraq question. In fact, in an odd way the NIE could be very helpful to the U.S. in such discussions. As Friedman says, if Iran has no nuclear program then the U.S. need not make any concessions to get rid of it. We just called their bluff, in other words.

If this thesis is correct, then there may be light at the end of the tunnel for American involvement in Iraq. The Bush Administration would like nothing more than an opportunity to declare victory and leave. Iran has the power to grant that wish, but won't do so without extracting some favors from the U.S. I suspect some sort of grand bargain is being designed behind the scenes.

It's funny how hope seems to come when you least expect it - and from the places you least expect it. If the U.S. and Iran can work out their differences there is hope for a broader stability in the Middle East. Time magazine recently reported that Iran would like to have the Vatican - which has diplomatic relations on both sides - mediate in talks with the United States. Given that Pope Benedict XVI just released a new encyclical about hope called Spe Salvi, there may be a chance for a happy ending here. We should all pray for it.