Are you part of a miracle?

Today's crumb comes from an alert reader in California, USA.

Might our entire universe actually be a miracle? According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, astrophysicists now know that the precise value of four fundamental forces (gravity, electromagnetic force, plus strong and weak nuclear forces) were all determined within one-millionth of a second after the "big bang." If any of these values were changed even a smidgen, our universe would not exist at all. Multiply these parameters by countless other necessary conditions, and the odds AGAINST our universe being here are (no pun intended) astronomical.

So what about the theory that creation just happened, like a lucky roll of the dice? Fred Hoyle, the astronomer who coined the phrase "big bang," said his atheism was greatly shaken after these discoveries. He later wrote that "a common-sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a super-intellect has monkeyed with the physics, as well as with chemistry and biology...The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question." Theoretical physicist Paul Davies calls the appearance of intelligent design "overwhelming." Oxford professor Dr. John Lennox said, "the more we know about our universe, the more the hypothesis that there is a Creator...gains credibility as the best explanation of why we are here."

These scientists conclude the universe is the greatest miracle of all time. Let's claim our status as part of the universal miracle, and discover what more the "super-intellect" or Creator has in store for us.

A prism, not a prison

Words worth remembering

Chinese author, scholar and dissident Liu Xiaobo has served nearly half of an 11-year sentence for subversion after calling for an end to one-party rule in China. In a message from his cell, he recently wrote that, while in prison, "I have become even more convinced that I have no personal enemies."

Liu Xiaobo

This confirms his final words at his sentencing in 2009, when he told the court, "I have no enemies and no hatred. None of the police who monitored, arrested and interrogated me, none of the prosecutors who indicted me, and none of the judges who judged me are my enemies. Although there is no way I can accept your monitoring, arrests, indictments and verdicts, I respect your professions and your integrity. Hatred can rot away a person's intelligence and conscience. Evil mentally will poison the spirit of a nation, incite cruel mortal struggles, destroy a society's tolerance and humanity, and hinder a nation's progress toward freedom and democracy."

It's alright to say, "I love you!"

Today's crumb is a poem from Amos Yoder, an Amish educator from Indiana, USA. It appeared in a magazine called School Echoes, supporting education in one-room Amish school houses.

It's alright to say, "I love you!"

To someone every day,

To obey our Lord's commandment

In a real and vital way.

The world is filled with sorrows

That sometimes touch us all,

And to know that we are loved

Lifts us when we fall.

The heart can be a lonely place

When no one comes to call

But when someone says, "I love you!"

We feel we're ten feet tall.

Three little words can mean so much

And they're not hard to say.

It's alright to say, "I love you!"

To someone every day.

"There's good news tonight!"

Readers from around the world are enjoying "Crumbs of Comfort." Since the first crumb was dropped five months ago, the blog has recorded 3,617 page visits from readers in the United States, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Philippines, Germany, France, Mexico and Russia. It is also carried on the Web sites of three newspapers in the United States. Welcome, everyone!

H.V. Kaltenborn

Part of the inspiration for this blog comes from a beloved radio newscaster in the United States. During the most frightening days of World War II, with so many husbands and fathers facing death in combat, families would gather around their radio at home each evening. No matter what tragedy he had to report. the newscaster always opened with the same words. America waited to hear him say, "THIS IS H.V. KALTENBORN, AND THERE'S GOOD NEWS TONIGHT!" Our blog seeks to prove Mr. Kaltenborn's legendary words are still true.

Have you fallen short?

Will you greet New Year's Eve with regret this year? Despite your best efforts, did you fail to reach some of the goals you set for 2014? Maybe you just ran out of time? If so, consider the Way of St. James, an important pilgrimage during the Middle Ages which many still take today. Pilgrims seeking forgiveness walk nine hundred miles from Paris to the magnificent Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, where legend says the remains of St. James are buried. They give their best effort, hiking across mountains, swamps and acrid plains, hoping to gain a blessing promised to all who enter the cathedral's richly ornate Door of Pardon. But some pilgrims can't quite make it. They are too weak to survive the journey, or too old. What becomes of them?

With only 75 miles to go, these weary pilgrims arrive at the quaint mountain town of Villafranca del Bierzo, where they find a modest, 12th century chapel called Little Compostela. It's the only church along the pilgrimage which has a Door of Pardon, open only to pilgrims who can't continue farther. As one 20th-century pilgrim described it, "That squat little chapel is the one I remember best. It's plain Door of Pardon tells me, 'You fell short of your ideals, but don't worry. You're on the true path, so I am blessing you right where you are.' What a boon to a life-long journey!"

In heaven, the perfect round

Today's "crumb of comfort" is a Christmas card from a reader in Redlands, CA, USA.  It illustrates the famous phrase by poet Robert Browning, "On earth the broken arcs; in heaven the perfect round."