Editorial

When I landed at Chicago's O'Hare Airport after a recent trip to Ireland, I experienced culture shock. Even after a brief time I had come to enjoy the more leisurely pace of Irish life. Now we were back to the frenetic American existence.

It made me want to turn around and fly back to Ireland!

Rushing through life. What is it with us Americans? We rush through life. We take quick showers, eat fast food, and speed in our cars. We get frustrated standing in line at the grocery store or waiting for a red light. Some Catholics even shop around for the shortest Masses - and leave after Communion to beat people to the parking lot.

Apparently there are a growing number of Americans who do not even take vacations. Employers are allowing workers to transfer vacation days to the following year and even "bank" the days for future benefits.

I think people these days do not know how to slow down. We're living a merry-go-round existence and we can't get off.

Lessons from the Irish. The Irish people can teach us some lessons in slowing down the pace of our lives. The Irish seem to take life much easier. They eat more leisurely meals (often preceded or followed by a pint or two in the local pub). There seems to be more time for conversation and fellowship. People of all ages and economic backgrounds mingle with each other.

Cars and other vehicles rarely go beyond the speed limit (if there is one). You see more people walking and bicycling, even on the country roads. The Irish seem to appreciate nature - almost every home has a carefully tended flower garden in the front yard.

Holy Father's advice. And I can't imagine the Irish not taking time for a vacation. As Catholics, I'm sure they would heed the advice of Pope Benedict XVI, who began his own vacation this month in an Alpine mountain retreat in northern Italy.

The Holy Father said both body and soul can benefit from a relaxing getaway vacation, especially one spent outdoors. Nature, said Pope Benedict, is like a "wonderful book." It is accessible to young and old. Being in touch with nature helps put things back in perspective.

He even acknowledged that today's lifestyles, especially in hectic cities, "leave little room for silence, reflection, and being in touch with nature." A vacation has almost become a necessity, he said, to "refortify one's body and spirit."

Besides sightseeing and other opportunities, a vacation time can also provide opportunities for prayer, reading, and meditation. It can allow us to reconnect with God.

Slow down throughout the year. Besides taking some vacation time, I think we Americans should consider slowing down the pace of our lives throughout the year. One place to start is on Sundays, which the Catholic Church has designated as a day of rest. This can be a day to worship and pray; to spend time with family and friends; to visit the sick and shut-ins; to enjoy the beauty in nature.

Let's take a lesson from the Irish and Pope Benedict XVI. Get off the merry-go-round, slow down, and relax. We should benefit both physically and spiritually.

Mary C. Uhler, editor

Mailbag

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Adult stem cells proven useful

To the editor:

Fat, muscle, and bone cells have been successfully coaxed from stem cells isolated from human skin. The experiment performed at Wake Forest University School of Medicine was one of the first to demonstrate the ability of a single adult stem cell to become multiple tissue types, reports the journal Stem Cells and Development.

Most scientists believe that embryonic stem cells are the most versatile, but the ability to use adult stem cells would reduce ethical concerns. Adult cells have been collected from bone marrow, blood, and the brain, but the skin is clearly more accessible.

The researchers isolated the cells in culture dishes and used hormones and growth factors to coax them into becoming fat, muscle, and bone cells. Implanted in mice, the cells maintained features consistent with those specific tissues.

The ability to develop specialized, self-replicating cells offers hope for repairing damaged cells in patients with spinal cord injuries, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, stroke, burns, and other maladies.

Bill Herriges, Pine Bluff

Organ donors give gift of life

To the editor:

I wanted to say a BIG thank you for the beautiful editorial "Share your life" on becoming an organ, tissue, and eye donor in the June 23 edition of the Catholic Herald. I am always thrilled to hear when people actively support this most awesome cause.

My dad received a new heart six years ago on New Year's Eve at Saint Luke's Hospital in Milwaukee and he is a new man. He will be 70 in October and he would have never lived if we hadn't been blest to receive this gift of life. He is active, and he and my mother celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary on June 21. We have become very close to the donor family - a very good strong Catholic family from the Waukesha area.

Also, my cousin was killed in a horrible car accident five years ago in Whitewater - he was 17. His eyes were donated and someone sees through his eyes because of his gift. What a great blessing to have doctors who are willing to allow God to hold their hands as they become God's instruments of healing.

Bill Frederick, Madison

Picking Supreme Court nominee

To the editor:

President Bush will soon pick a judicial nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. Because of the U.S. Supreme Court over 44 million pre-born babies have been killed, with approximately 3,000 a year killed through the grisly partial birth abortion procedure.

Pro-abortion groups want young teenage girls to be able to get an abortion without parental notification. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against displaying the Ten Commandments in courthouses which is censorship. Here's a quote from John Quincy Adams:

"The Law given from Sinai [The Ten Commandments] was a civil and municipal as well as a moral and religious code." Then the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the government can take any property, under the guise of using it for a "public benefit." This is what activist judges do; they simply ignore the Constitution to do whatever they please.

Call the president and tell him that you want him to pick a strong pro-life, conservative judicial nominee at 202-456-1111, e-mail him at president@whitehouse.gov or fax at 202-456-6213.

Beverly Moran, Corinth, N.Y.