Sam Weber

[Sam Weber @TheWeb14]

@TrentRushSports According to Arte, this is all that fans want! Winning?? Nah…

[Bishop Robert Barron @BishopBarron]

I’ve just finished reading Gad Saad’s book Suicidal Empathy.

It ranks, along with Chris Rufo’s America’s Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything and Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay’s Cynical Theories, as the best take-down of the lunacy at the heart of the wokeist philosophy.

For Saad, empathy—in itself a perfectly decent trait—has become so grossly exaggerated that it threatens truth, reality, and justice.

Cases in point abound: so they won’t feel bad about themselves, we’ll allow biological men to compete in women’s sports and crush the dreams of thousands of young women; so as not to undermine the self-esteem of minorities, we will permit unqualified candidates to have positions in universities and the corporate world; so that everyone might feel included, we will characterize the meritocracy as “white privilege,” etc.

As I was making my way through Saad’s book, I kept remarking the sharp distinction between empathy and love.

To empathize is to enter profoundly into the experience of another and to endeavor not to hurt that person’s feelings. But to love is, as Thomas Aquinas taught, “to will the good of the other.”

As I said, in itself and all things being equal, empathy is a good thing. But it is not the same as love, which, depending on circumstances, can very much involve hurting someone’s feelings.

When a professor gives a student a “C” as an honest reflection of his work, he might well be insulting him, but he’s also telling him the truth and perhaps even urging him to try harder.

When, in the Confessional, a priest tells a murderer to turn himself in to the police, he’s undoubtedly making that person’s life more uncomfortable, but he’s also willing the man’s good.

Any decent parent knows that showing real love for her children means engendering all kinds of bad feelings in them.

In light of this distinction, we can understand why Jesus didn’t say, “have empathy for one another,” but rather “love one another.” And why St. John the Evangelist didn’t say, “God is empathy,” but rather “God is love.”

It occurred to me as I was reading Saad’s book that one reason Wokeism has seized the consciousness of so many in the West is that Christianity has faded as a cultural force and Christians themselves have forgotten what stands at the heart of their faith.

[Sam Weber @TheWeb14]

@CatholicFQ I hope @ArchbishopGomez feels the same way

[Sam Weber @TheWeb14]

@TomlinsonCJ We attended this mass as well. The Trump comment was surprising when it happened. Did I like hearing it? No. Could I disagree with it? No.

[Sam Weber @TheWeb14]

Winston Churchill is rolling over in his grave

[BBC News (UK) @BBCNews]

Smoking ban for people born after 2008 in the UK agreed https://t.co/12Da2ZVzJZ

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth. #ApostolicJourney #Cameroon https://t.co/bKteFZ3iWE

[Bishop Robert Barron @BishopBarron]

I'm happy to share this post by my friend Rep. Riley Moore. Both Congressman Moore and I have been following for some time the story of the brutal anti-Christian persecution underway in Nigeria. To suggest, as the New York Times does, that these attacks are not motivated fundamentally by anti-Christian animus is simply absurd. I suppose the editors of the paper of record feel that it was just an odd coincidence that a purportedly “tribal” and “economically motivated” assault took place on Palm Sunday. Anyone who studies these murders, that have taken place over many decades, and fails to see an anti-religious pattern is blind.

[Sam Weber @TheWeb14]

@FredSimonTLM In Rome today, the lightening has been crazy!

[Sam Weber @TheWeb14]

@NickLongrich @romanhelmetguy I can’t take any book seriously that uses BCE and CE

[Sam Weber @TheWeb14]

@sarahcstock We did this 10 years ago with Pope Francis. Amazing memory.

[Sam Weber @TheWeb14]

@DaBearsTakeOver Don’t forget about failed 4th down conversions

[Sam Weber @TheWeb14]

@SteveStone4Real @willmbetts You must not watch their golf coverage

[Sam Weber @TheWeb14]

@grok @catshealdeprsn @grok same for me no tag

[Sam Weber @TheWeb14]

@praytherosary Pope Gregory the Great

[Sam Weber @TheWeb14]

Happy Mother’s Day #avemaria

[Sam Weber @TheWeb14]

@dieworkwear Are you going to call out the Prince of Wales too? Or just make this about Trump?

[Sam Weber @TheWeb14]

@AlTayWeiss So sorry Alex!!!

[Sam Weber @TheWeb14]

@_Kesh_Money *Governor of CA

[Nicole Shanahan @NicoleShanahan]

For all you climate change doomsayers: California has been OUT of a drought since 2022. We’ve seen record rainfall, yet the CA Dept of Water Resources, big city mayors, and the governor have failed to use that water to increase ground hydration and strengthen emergency fire services. They looked the other way despite warnings from universities, fire departments, farmers, and consultants offering actionable plans. It’s mind-boggling negligence. The government in California has been taking orders from the wrong people for too long. It’s time they wake up, grow a pair, and get to work for the people.

[Los Angeles Times @latimes]

A reservoir in the Palisades that holds 117 million gallons of water was offline this month for previously scheduled maintenance. It was empty when the Palisades fire exploded. https://t.co/qLgNpFPwiu