The Last Week: A Day By Day Account of Jesus Final Week In Jerusalem

The Last Week, by Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan sheds refreshing and perhaps the original meaning of Jesus Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Their focus is not Who was Jesus? but What was his Message in light of his 'last week'. The Gospel of Mark, representing the oldest gospel tradition of these events is the basis of their analysis. The conclusions of this analysis will be disturbing for some.

Borg and Crossan maintain that what killed Jesus was the 'normalcy of civilization.' This 'normalcy' is characterized by violence, oppression, and inequality. Jesus message being antithetical to this 'normalcy' could not be tolerated. Imperial violence backed by religious collaboration leads to his demise on the Cross.

The week begins with Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem and is juxtaposed to another entry, that of Roman Imperial power in the guise of Pontius Pilate. Pilate and his legionaries threat of violence are present to mitigate possible unrest during Passover, a subversive Jewish feast celebrating freedom from bondage and oppression. One entry celebrates the inauguration of God's nonviolent Kingdom while the other represents raw power through intimidation and fear.

The next day witnesses Jesus cleansing of the Temple, a symbolic shutting down of the present 'norm' of the Temple. The authors are careful to point out that this is not an attack on the religion of Judaism, "the priesthood or even the high priesthood as an institution, or on the temple as a location for blood sacrifice." It was a protest on the 'normalcy of civilization' that the high priest and the Temple was complicit in. The Sadducees and Temple were collaborates in the Roman Imperium. They collected Roman taxes and served as Rome's administrators.

In Mark 11:17 Jesus says, "... Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers."(RSV) The religious leaders oppress the people and hide in the comfort and protection of God's House. Yet this contradicts God's Kingdom and reminds us of Jeremiah's admonition that worship is hollow if justice does not flow from it. One cannot 'Praise God' and condemn his people to servitude. Religion is being used as one more pillar in the 'Temple' of power politics.

The events must be seen in the context of the message, The Kingdom of God, an Empire in opposition to the Roman Empire and the 'normal' systems of domination. The Kingdom of God is contrary and opposite to the 'business as usual' of this 'normalcy' Jesus did not preach his identity in Mark, that is he did not likely claim sonship, divinity, or even Messianic status. What Jesus is, is revealed in actions that inaugurate the Kingdom of God. He invites humanity to enter into a process that has begun.

God's reign blends into another key emphasis of Mark's proclamation, discipleship. What does it mean to follow Jesus and be a member of God's Kingdom? One must be a child, a servant, a slave, the last, the least. Even the Apostles in Mark misunderstand. James and John seek seats close to Jesus, close to the power in the world of the 'norm'. Peter wishes to deny Jesus his Passion and Death when it is predicted. By the end all have abandoned him.

The authors ask the question, Was it necessary that Jesus be crucified? "Not because of Divine Necessity, but because of human inevitability - that is what domination systems did to people who publicly and vigorously challenge them." Hence it is our sin, our way of being, 'normalcy of civilization' that led to 'the last week.'

The authors also de-emphasize the theology of 'substitution'. That is, Jesus is a substitute offering to the Father for our sinful nature. The implication being what some have called "cheap grace". The belief being that since I have accepted Jesus and he has freely and definitively saved me I don't have to do anything. I can forget about the requirements of discipleship, the love of neighbor or the core message of Jesus, The Kingdom of God. I merely proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior. We seem to forget that it was Jesus 'actions' that revealed his identity as Lord and Savior! It is Jesus invitation to participatory action that Jesus ask of us for his Father's Kingdom. Ironically, a member of the Roman Empire was required to pay their taxes and proclaim Caesar Lord and Savior, Son of God, God of God. Jesus required more, love ... action.

"We would like ... Holy Week " ' s" conclusion to be about the interior rather than the exterior life, about heaven rather than earth, about the future rather than the present, and above all else, about religion safely and securely quarantined from politics." If we accept Jesus as our personal savior, we also accept Jesus as King Of Heaven and Earth, Abba to all. We commit to actively completing his Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven. We must reject the Imperium of violent domination through oppression and inequality and we must love. Love in its simplest terms...to share! And if this be your Passion you will be guaranteed your own Passion....

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The Golden Age of Islam

"The poetry of the Arab world sighs with longing for al-Andaluz, the Moorish region of southern Spain where from 750 to 1492 a high civilization flourished. It was in the courts of Andalusia that romantic love was born. There, too, the Greek classics were translated into Arabic and then into Latin and transmitted to Christian Europe. Christians and Jews lived and prospered there, and scholars peaceably debated the tenets of the three faiths. In the Arab imagination, the Andalusian idyll died with the reconquest of Granada in 1492. In actuality, it had expired centuries before under new warrior dynasties, which had come out of the North African desert to conquer and repress their cultured and tolerant cousins"

So begins an editorial in America Magazine. It was not so many centuries ago that the Christian West was in the Dark Ages and World of Islam flourished. Moorish Spain exhibited signs that maybe Jews, Christian's, and Muslim's could live together and prosper.

I recently deleted a post that examined Islamic beliefs in Revelation and how they differed from Christian and Jewish scholarship in this area. Basically, Islam believes that the angel Gabriel dictated the inerrant 'word of Allah' to Mu hammed. As such, this leaves one no room to interpret that word and apply it to the modern world. Hence Muslim's rejection of modern liberalism.

Benedict XVl address's this issue in The Spirit and Vision of Pope Benedict XVI by Robert Moynihan; ..."Islam considers itself perfectly reasonable, but the concept of reason is different. Even the concept of God's action is different. For example, the Koran is considered to be a word that comes immediately, as such, directly from God, without human mediation. While for us, the Sacred Scripture evolved out of God's history with his people, with the mediation of man's response to God, involving man in God's action. This is only an example of how, while having elements in common, there is a profound difference in the foundation of the two realities. Any dialogue must certainly appeal to reason and try to see how reason can help us in dialogue. A great deal of patience is needed so that, in profound allegiance to Revelation and openness that this generates, we can leave it to the Lord to mark out the path for this dialogue." (Moynihan p. 139)

The Pope's musings have a ring of truth to them, yet at the same time leaves dialogue between Christians and Muslims in a limbo of negativity. It was this sense of 'helplessness' that led me to pull my first posting on Islam's rejection of modern liberalism and tolerance. Historically there is a great precedent to today's view of Islam rejecting reason in deference to theology. Abu'l-Walid Ibn Rushd, better known as Averroes (1126-1198), was perhaps one of the greatest promoters of philosophy that ever lived. He articulated Greek philosophy to the Arab world and re-introduced it to the West.

Averroes saw no incompatibility between religion and philosophy! Chris Lowney, in his book, A Vanished World: Medieval Spain's Golden Age of Enlightenment, quotes Averroes thought, "Since scripture is a truth that invites the inquiry that leads to knowledge of the truth, then we, as Muslims, can be absolutely certain that no proposition based on logically demonstrated proof will entail any contradiction of scripture.' If any Quran passage seems to contradict what natural reason or science demonstrate, 'then scriptural interpretation is required." (Lowney p.169) Averroes made these statements at a time when many of his brethren viewed philosophy and rational speculation as a secularizing and godless discipline.

The philosophers opinions were as controversial in his day as ours. On women: "The ability of women is not known, because they are ... placed at the service of their husbands and [relegated] to the business of procreation, rearing and breast-feeding... they resemble plants." (Lowney p. 170) It is not surprising that statements like these led to his trial for heresy and banishment from Cordoba. Though rehabilitated a year after these events, his progressive insights were effectively snuffed out.

What is needed today is more Averroes, an Enlightenment of East and West, patient reason in an atmosphere of tolerance!

More on the idea of religious tolerance in the next posting. I am reading Perez Zagorin's How the Idea of Religious Tolerance Came to the West.

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Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis, A Review

Jimmy Carter's book, Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis, is a light shining in the darkness. If Ronald Reagan saw America as a "City on a Hill," then Carter's America is the light in that 'City.' Carter examines the issues of our day in a sober, well reasoned, and thoughtful manner. One senses that a viewpoint based on strong national traditions is present. He speaks to Americans of the dangers of Fundamentalism. The Fundamentalism of Christians as well as the Fundamentalism of Islam.

Abortion, the death penalty, science versus religion, women's rights, the separation of religion and politics, homosexuality, America's foreign policy and our global image, civil liberties, the threat of terrorism, nuclear proliferation, the prevalence of guns, the choice between war and peace, the environmental quality, and justice for the poor are all the subject matter of this former presidents thoughts.

A mere listing of topics does not do justice to his undertaking. He speaks to us in a folksy yet intelligent manner, common sense in a world of blowviations.

I was particularly intrigued by his analysis of charity in the United States. Many Fundamentalist Christians have worn the name 'Christian' as a matter of righteousness. The former president, a Christian, calls our attention to the following: In the New Testament 1 in 16 verses deal with the topic of wealth and poverty, 1 in 10 verses in three of the Gospels, and 1 in 7 verses in the Gospel of Luke. Yet despite the Christians' Holy Scriptures; only 16 cents per $100.00 of national income (Gross National Product) is given to the sick and poor. If we combine government with private charity, the number only moves up to 22 cents per $100.00 of income. This is a far cry from 10%. Perhaps this is not a "Christian" nation after all?

The book is a must read even if you disagree with his politics and spirituality!

Opus Dei - A Book Review

Dan Browns, "The DaVinci Code," portrays a member of Opus Dei flagellating himself just before he is to perform an assassination. The book is entertaining as a piece of fiction but bears no resemblance to history. Nonetheless, I was intrigued to find out just what and who Opus Dei is. For years, I have heard numerous reports on the organization. Everything from comparing Opus Dei to the Masons, or the Knights of the Templar, or the Pope's Hit Men, to the legitimate and honorable favorite organization of Pope John Paul II.

Many criticisms have been leveled against the organization from inside and outside the Catholic Church: They are a secret cult. They recruit young members through cultic practices. They are fabulously wealthy. They secretly occupy the highest levels of industry, government, and the Church. They have a powerful political agenda. They relegate their female members to menial 'house work' and deny them any real power in the organization. They practice perverse ascetic sadomasochistic acts of mortification, the wearing of barbed wire-like belts and the practice of whipping themselves. They bought their founder, St. Josemaria, his sainthood or at the least, manipulated his beatification. The founder was a fascist. They elected the new pope.

Ironically, many of these charges are or were leveled against the Jesuits. The Jesuits are today Opus Dei's biggest critics.

To satisfy my curiosity I searched my public library and found the following title: Opus Dei: An Objective Look Behind The Myths And Reality Of The Most Controversial Force In The Catholic Church by John L. Allen, Jr. Allen is a Vatican corespondent for the National Catholic Reporter. Since the NCR is considered a liberal Catholic periodical, I thought his view would balance the supposed conservative Opus Dei members perceptions of their organization. I had expected the author to give Opus Dei a thrashing. Was I surprised!!! The book was remarkably objective as the title suggests. Mr. Allen interviewed Opus Dei members and was given access to Opus Dei literature and practices. He claims that at no time did the organization fail to answer his questions in some manner. Former members who are critics and others who find fault with the organization were given a fair sounding.

I hope to give you a few savory morsels of this book. It is well worth one's time. My own faith was rejuvenated!

Opus Dei is Latin for 'God's Work'. Members of Opus Dei frequently refer to it as 'the Work'. Its founder, St. Josemari'a Escriva', envisioned:

"A mobilization of Christians disposed to sacrifice themselves with joy to others, to render divine all the ways of man on earth, sanctifying every upright work, every honest labor, every earthly occupation."

We frequently set up a schizophrenic dichotomy in our lives by dividing them into the sacred and the profane, the spiritual and the secular, the clerical and the lay. What I do in the Church building is not linked to what I do at work. Holiness is for priest and nuns. Its survival for the rest of us. The founders vision is that there was to be no division by position, location, or time. The world and spirituality were to be one seamless cloth.

The author states,

"At its core, the message of Opus Dei is the redemption of the world will come in large part through laywomen and men sanctifying their daily work, transforming secularity from within."

So what does this mean? I was educated by the Benedictines of St. Meinrad. St. Benedict had a motto, 'Ora et Labora,' pray and work. One was to live ones life by praying and working. One's work was to become one's prayer! The difference between Opus Dei and the Benedictines is that the Benedictines wear a habit, and are for the most part cloistered in a monastery or church. Most members of Opus Dei live in the 'secular' world as: doctors, lawyers, engineers, bankers, professors, taxis drivers, barbers, etc. They wear no distinguishing habit and do not advertise their affiliation. (They have been criticized for being secretive. I understand their anonymity to be an act of humility and similar in attitude to that of Alcoholics Anonymous. Opus Dei members are not to "talk the talk, but walk the walk. Members are not to seek special privilege or advantage by way of their membership.)

It is unlike any other organization in the Church. It is not considered a lay movement, nor a clerical order. Priest and laity, men and women are all together in the organization. All Christian members are equally part of 'the Work'.

The goal is to bring Christ to and find Him in the ordinary and mundane work and task of life, be it sweeping the floor, cooking dinner, delivering a lecture,or cutting someone's hair. All work is noble. It is one's attitude not ones occupation or station in life that matters. Holiness is to be found in everything and everywhere. One is to contemplate in a world of active work.

Opus Dei is said not to have a political agenda. " ... the proper role of the Church is not to advance a political program but to pass on the spiritual and doctrinal tradition that are its primary reasons for existence." One's politics is left to the freedom of the individual member. There are members found on the left and the right, yet it must be admitted that the preponderance of membership seems is to be found on the right of the political spectrum.

Context is everything! The right of center views of many of Opus Dei's members are largely due to the historical context of its birth, and desire to survive and be recognized as a legitimate community in the Church. The Spanish Civil War found the Communists executing priests and religious. St. Josemari'a was saved only by feigning insanity. As with many new organizations in the Church, at the time of their founding they (the Franciscans, the Dominicans, the Jesuits, Opus Dei) pledged absolute fidelity to the Pope and the teachings of the Magistarium without question.

The faiths of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity have all had aesetics who practiced corporal mortification. Christian mortification is seen as spiritual training. "It reminds one in a physical sense that sin hurts. It is used as an act of penance and trains one to face the hardships of life."

Some Opus Die members use the 'Cilice' and the 'Discipline'. The 'Cilice' is "a spiked chain worn around the upper thigh for up to two hours each day, except for Church feast days, Sundays, and certain times of the year." The author tried one on for two hours and found it less painful than running a mile. The 'Discipline' is "a cordlike whip that resembles macrame, used on the buttocks or back once a week while reciting a brief prayer, usually either the Our Father, or the Hail Mary." Other practices may include sleeping on the floor, without a pillow, not putting milk or sugar in one's coffee or tea, not buttering one's toast, not taking seconds at meals, skipping dessert, keeping silent after night prayer, and taking cold showers.

Opus Dei has a porportional representation of .9% of bishops in the Church. The Jesuits have a higher representation of clerics in the Vatican. Its financial assets are rather modest in comparison to other Church organizations. Women nominate the leaders of the organization and the men vote on them. The women run the women's half of the organization.

The book gives far more detail in examining these area's. Allen also makes recommendations at the end of the book that would help to dispel the false impression many people have of Opus Dei.

Allen's Book and presentation of Opus Dei were both interesting and inspirational. It is worth a look.

"To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often."

The Sociopath Next Door - A Review

The Sociopath Next Door, by Martha Stout Ph.D., recently caught my eye while I was at a friend's public library. I was so intrigued by the books introduction that I ask my friend if she would check it out for me. The book is due today and she lives 30 miles away, so I better get typing!

Dr. Stout claims that 1 in 25 Americans have no conscience and merely acts at being what most of us consider to be human . They live their lives with no sense of guilt, regardless of their actions. They lack what St Jerome called ' synderesis,' "the innate God given ability to sense the difference between good and evil."

She list the following characteristics of such a person:"

1) Failure to conform to social norms,

2) Deceitfulness, manipilativeness,

3) Impulsivity, failure to plan ahead,

4) Irritability, aggressiveness,

5) Reckless disregard for the safety of self and others,

6) Consistent irresponsibility,

7) Lack of remorse after having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another person.

The thought that 4% of the population has nothing to hold their actions in check is chilling! How does one develop in to such a creature? Is one genetically predisposed, is one taught, or is one's past traumas and abuses responsible? Dr. Stout examines these issues and others.

Classical Jewish & Christian concepts of guilt and conscience are reviewed from Job, St Augustine et .al. to the present. Dr. Stout also considers Freud's categories of 'the id,' 'the ego,' and 'the super ego' in the light of sociopathic being. She also distinguishes narcissism from sociopathy. Narcissism is, "a failure not of conscience but of empathy, which is the capacity to perceive emotions in others and so react to them appropriately." A Narcissist knows his own emotions but not those of others, a hellish situation. They feel confused, abandoned, and lonely. Many commit suicide.

The Sociopath present the Christian with a frightening delima. If an individual is constitutionally incapable of being taught right from wrong, incapable of reform, then what is one to do in the light of Christ? Jesus taught that all are capable of redemption!

Once a sociopath is recognized, are we to let loose upon society an individual who can reek untold evil in the world? If you find these thoughts disturbing, consider for a moment an individual married to a sociopath? Consider Mao, Stalin, ....!!!

The Inuit People, have a name for sociopaths, 'kunlangeta'. It means, "mind knows what to do but does not do it." They have a solution for a person with this problem. While on a hunting expedition, the individual is placed on an ice sheet which is summarily set to drift at sea. Indeed!

Mark 2:18-22 A Reflection

Marks Gospel continues to give us clues to the identity of Jesus. Tension is mounting as the scribes and Pharisees find Jesus musings to be blasphemous. He has the power to forgive sins, Mk2:1-12? Now He fashions Himself the Messiah at the Messianic Banquet inaugurating the Kingdom of God! Holy men fast, he does not.

The authorities are viewing Jesus through the lense of the 'letter of the law', how things appear to be. Only those who 'know' with their hearts, with the 'spirit' will be able to 'know' Jesus for who He is and what he brings.

The passage ends with two parable like images of a contrast between the new and the old. One does not mix old and new cloth. One does not put new wine in old wineskins. To mix the old and new is to risk peril. The new era has arrived. Let us not look back. Let us live in the spirit.

In the slang of today, Jesus says, "Party on Dude!"

Some reflections. Do I judge by what appears to be? Do I judge to the standards of religious formalism; by how holy one looks?, by how often they go to church?, by how they pray and what they say? Do I deny the poor simple joys because they are poor? What is he doing with an I-Pod? Do I take time to celebrate the joys of Life?

Reflections: 2 Corinthians 3:1b-6

Paul begins here a theme that we reflected upon yesterday in Hosea 2, 'knowing by the heart and spirit.' St. Paul will be critical of the Corinthians later in his letter. He begins by indirectly praising them.

How is Paul to be credentialed, what is to be his resume, his recommendation? He states, "You are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by all... not on tablets of stone but on tablets that are hearts of flesh." So in essence the community will know them by the communities behavior. If their behavior is good, then Paul's ministry to them through Christ will reflect it.

Ultimately the credit and qualifications for their preaching's is God's alone. The new covenant is that of the spirit. A viewing of the world around us is to be from the heart.

What does this have to do with me? I have noticed that currently it quite fashionable to wear the banner of "Christian" around ones neck for political, monetary, and a host of other reasons. It is easy today to be a letter of the law Christian. Go to Church, say all the right things, be self satisfied. Forget about the poor. They will always be around. Isn't that what Jesus says? We need tax cuts. We need cheap products. After all, if your poor, it must be your fault! If you don't have health care, well that's your problem.

Such behavior throughout history leaves one with the attitude expressed by Mark Twain.

"There is but one thing I know, should Christ walk the earth today... he would not be a 'Christian'."

One's Christian credentials will not be known from what one says. It will be revealed by how one acts, by how one views the world, and by how those who live around and with one respond. Love cannot help but expand from the Spirit. So are we to be 'hearts of flesh' or stones of morbidity?

Saw II - A Movie Review

Saw II is an action pact suspense thriller with a surprise ending. I was on the edge of my seat wondering what would come next as the story unfolded. It is in fact mysteries within mysteries. The movies begins with the evil architect of a hellish prison declaring through the face of a contorted carnival clown, " I want to play a game!"

The first victim has a Venus Flytrap Helmet on his head, with spikes on the interior of the device. Should it close, that is spring shut, the victims head and face would be impaled on the spikes! The victim is told that he has 60 seconds to unlock and take off the helmet before it shuts. He is even told where the key to the helmet is. The clown on a television monitor gruesomely says, "Your freedom is right before your eyes." The X-ray shows him it is surgically embedded behind his eye. Yes, that's right, he has to gouge out his eye in order to retrieve the life saving key.

The basic plot revolves around a group of people locked in a house, prison, with deadly nerve gas seeping in. They have 2 hours to solve various riddles in order to release themselves from tailor made individual traps. They are each charged with a unique 'crime against humanity.' A former heroine addict must dive into a pit of used and bloody hypodermic needles in order to find a key at the bottom of the pit, while a pyromaniac must enter a furnace and retrieve a hypodermic needle full of the antidote to the nerve gas. The clown states, "Salvation if you earn it!" Should they fail each member will meet a gruesome death?

Some traps place members in conflict with each other. The convicts are faced with the dilemma, "How much blood are you willing to spill to survive?" The clock tics as an almost Darwinian play is enacted. While this is taking place another drama is unfolding. There are those on the outside who see what is going on but are powerless to stop the mayhem. I won't ruin the movie for you, you'll just have to rent the movie to find out if the clown has the last laugh. I will definitely rent Saw I

Warning: Content has Strong Violence and Strong Language!

Hosea: Readings Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings :Hosea 2:16b,17b21-22 2 Corinthians 3:1b-6 Mark 2:18-22

These three readings speak to me of knowing: a different kind of knowing, a knowing of the spirit, a knowing of the heart, a knowing of the Lord and His relationship to us. The Prophet Hosea reminds us of God's never ending fidelity to His people. As Hosea's wife whored around, the prophet was steadfast in his commitment and devotion to her. A superhuman accomplishment!!! Analogous to Yahweh's relationship to Israel.

The Lord says he will take her to the desert and speak to her heart. Is this a set up or what? Is this going to be a painful purification? Do I want to go to the desert? Desert's are places of extreme, hot & cold, light & dark. Is this perhaps a place of clarification? Just what is my life all about?

"She shall respond there as in the days of her youth, when she came up from the land of Egypt." Now there is a scary thought! If I recall, "she" (Israel), was a bedraggled mess, just having outrun the 'posse', (Pharaoh), and complaining, 'why did you take us out here in the desert to die?" Does not sound like the makings of a happy union?

He goes on the say that he will "espouse you in right & justice, in love and mercy...' The 'love & mercy' part sounds good, but I don't know about the 'right & justice'. What 'offender' wants justice? One only wants justice when one has been offended against, otherwise as an 'offender' one pleads for mercy. So how can the Lord do both?

These passages pose more questions than answers when the knowing is of the 'mind.' They only begin to make sense if the knowing is of the 'heart.' What of these musings can be applied to my real life? Who can afford to live in the 'heart' when one feels that the 'posse' is only a few steps behind, when someone has stolen our identity and is ruining our name, or when our love ones betray us?

Last Sunday's gospel reading from Mark 2:1-12, revealed to us that Jesus has the power to forgive sins. This message is continued and refined in this Sunday's readings. Just as I have a human need to ask the Lord to give me the power to forgive, I also must ask of Him for the power to live and see through the 'heart'. Perhaps only total dependence and fidelity with the Lord will get us down the road of Life!

Corinthians and Mark Tomorrow.

Identity Theft Aided By The U.S. Post Office

I have a fond place in my heart for the United States Postal Service. They do a fine job in delivering the mail in a timely manner. Their stamps have graced my stamp collection from childhood. I support this vital Civil Service.

What troubles me and has come to my attention is the Post Office's policy on change of address. Anyone can come in and file a change of address form on me and send my mail to wherever they choose. The Post Office does not require proof that the one changing the address is in fact the holder of the address changed. No drivers licence, birth certificate, or even a library card.

Identity thieves use this technique particularly this time of year. This is how it works. A thief will select a victim and have his or her address changed to one where he can temporarily retrieve the victims mail. January is a favored time since income tax, bank, savings, stocks, and credit card statements are all sent in anticipation of filing taxes. One's social security and account numbers are all now in the identity thieves hands.

Despite the fact that changing another persons address is a felony, few of these thieves are ever caught or prosecuted. Trying to recover one's identity is a major ordeal from which some never recover!!! If you feel that this is a potential error on the part of the Post Office that threatens citizens privacy and financial status please contact the Post Office as well as your congressman and senator. This a problem with a simple solution... REQUIRE IDENTIFICATION to change one address.

If you begin to miss your mail, contact the post office immediately. Keep records. Document who you speak to, when, where, and what was said. Keep in daily contact with the Post Office. If the thieves are to be caught time is of the essence!!! Contact one of the three major credit reporting agencies immediately and let them know that your confidential information may have been stolen. They will ask you if you want a 90 day or 7 year alert put on your credit report. Contacting one of these bureaus will automatically alert the other two.

Equifax: 800-525-6285

Experian: 888-397-3742

Trans Union: 800-680-7289

Informing these agencies will make it harder for a thief to open new credit in your name!

Inform the Credit Card Companies what has happened. There is usually a 24 hour number on the back of the Credit Card. Ask them for your last transaction. Ask to whom you are talking and their employee ID number if they will not give you their last name. Document the time and date of the call. It is best to begin a file to keep all of your information. Ask to change your account number. You may wish to cancel their service if you already have more than two major credit cards?

You are allowed a free credit report. Ask for it.

Hopefully this will be helpful!