The Message -- for Catholicsof Southwestern Indiana
Don't just get used to it
Written by Rob Thomas/John Leslie Golf/John
Joseph Stanley/Brian Yale
By CHARLIE MARTIN Sung by Matchbox 20
Catholic News Service Copyright (c) 1995 by Tabitha's Secret Music
3 A.M.
She says it's cold outside/And she hands me my
raincoat/She's always worried/About things like
that/She says it's all gonna end/And it might as well
• be my fault/And she only sleeps/When it's raining.
REFRAIN
She says baby/It's 3 a.m./I must be lonely/When she
says baby/Well I can't help but be/Scared of it all
sometimesJSays the rain's gonna wash away./I
believe it.
She got a little bit of something/God it's better than
nothing/And in her color portrait world/She
believes that she got it all/She swears the moon
don't hang/Quite as high as it used to/And she only
sleeps/When it is raining/And she screams/And her
voice is straining.
REPEAT REFRAIN
She believes that life/Is made up of all/That you're
used to/And the clock on the wall/Has been stuck at
3/For days and days/She thinks happiness is/A mat
that sits on her doorway/But outside it's stopped
raining
REPEAT REFRAIN
Matchbox 20 got lots of attention with its first
chart hit "Push." Now, off their multiplatinum
debut disc "Yourself or Someone Like You," is
their latest release, "3 A.M."
The song is interesting, even with its mysteri-
ous story line. Some of the lyrics intrigued me, so
I decided to review the song for this column.
Consider what the character in the song says
about his girlfriend: "She believes that life is
made up of all that you're used to." Is this true?
If so, we'd better be careful what we get used to!
Given this point of view, what should one's
response to failure be? Should you just get used
to it?
Many times obstacles or disappointments are
stepping stones on our pathway to success. For
example, if you get a D in a class that you hoped
to do well in, you then know that your current
approach to the class is not working. Get a new
plan, and reapply your efforts. Don't just get
used to it!
Then, there is this line in the song: "She
thinks happiness is a mat that sits on her door-
way." is happiness something that just happens
to you? I doubt it.
Happiness often arrives only when we make
an important decision. Happy people think of
others' needs and are generous, giving without
expecting anything in return.
!
Happiness often is found
vision Of what is important in
work hard to achieve their
Sure, you might have to
but happy people don't give up
Also, they don't focus on the
disappointments and setbacks.
regard these events as signs
strategize and double their efforts.
Finally, the song has the
clock on the wall has been stuck at i
take this as an indication that
pening in the person's life. EveI
Occasionally, this can happen
Again, we're not forced to just
need to take a look at how we got '
Maybe we made mistakes in
haps an unexpected hurt
tional energy. Depression and a
stuck can be the results.
Compassion, patience and per
ways out of this painful er
make a new plan. Ask others
you try to get your life moving a
We all have a choice about
approach to life will be passive
Creator, who give us life, invites
the co-creators of our lives.
Taking an active approach
honors the Creator, who has shown
you can become .....
Your comments are always
address: 7125W 200S, Rockport,
THE CATHOLIC
COMMUNICATION
CAMPAIGN
NEW YORK (CNS) -- The fob
lowing are capsule reviews of
movies recently reviewed by the
U.S. Catholic Conference (USCC)
Office for Film and Broadcasting.
Ratings are also given by the
Motion Picture Association of
America (MPAA).
"Hurricane Streets" (MGM)
Urban youth drama in which
a depressed Manhattan teen
(Brendan Sexton III) whose
thieving pals are verging on
more serious crime gets
involved in an accidental killing
just as he's about to moe to
New Mexico with a troubled
girlfriend (Isidra Vega). Writer-
director Morgan J. Freeman's
gritty tale presents adolescent
frustrations with some sensitiv-
ity but the narrative is drawn
out to a contrived, unconvincing
finish. Brief violence, numerous
thefts, some recreational drug
use and much rough language.
The USCC classification is A-III
adults. The MPAA rating is R
-- restricted.
"Love Walked In" (Triumph)
Muddied crime story in which
a failed lounge singer (Denis
Leary) plans to blackmail a
wealthy married man (Terence
Stamp) by getting his adored
wife (Aitana Sanchez Gij6n) to
seduce him, but is unprepared
for the dire consequences this
has on his own marriage. Direc-
tor Juan J. Campanella superfi-
cially explores several crises of
conscience in a downbeat narra-
tive hampered by an intrusive
subplot paralleling these crises
with those of imaginary pulp-
fiction characters. A sexual
encounter with nudity, brief vio-
lence and frequent rough lan-
guage. The USCC classification
is A-III -- adults. The MPAA rat-
ing is R -- restricted.
"Palmetto" (Columbia)
Absurd thriller in which an
embittered ex-con (Woody Har-
Author says 'Deal with things the way they are'
Thinking Catholic, by Daniel
E. Pilarczyk. St. Anthony Mes-
senger Press, 1615 Republic St.,
Cincinnati, OH 45210-1298,1998.
Paperbound, 99 pages, $6.95.
BOOK REVIEW
By MARY ETTA KIEFER,
O/S.B.
Message staff
Thinking Catholic is a chal-
lenging book emphasizing all
the major tenets of the Church:
the goodness of creation, being
stewards of God's gifts, God's
and education and learning. In
fourteen reflections, the author
has applied Thinking Catholic to
attitudes of daily living.
Pilarczyk tells us that we are
called to be realistic and recog-
nize what our world is, and what
it is not:.
"I have not set out to demort-
strate how crazy and how bad
things are in the world that sur-
rounds us. There isn't much need
for such a demonstration. Those
who need to be convinced that
things are not what they should
be have only to consider the fren-
in a conversational manner, pre-
senting a clear path for the
Catholic heart and mind, "to
show how different we are -- or
should be-- from many of those
around us."
Indeed, there is comfort in hav-
ing a clear map when we deal
with the conflicting messages we
hear daily -- and deal with them
we must, says Pilarczyk. Think-
ing Catholic is the ability "to see
how it all fits together in a coher-
ent vision, to accept it joyfully
and confidently as God's gift and
plan for us, to respond to it all
with love... That's what think-
ing Catholic is all about."
About the author:.
Daniel E. Pilarczyk is arch-
bishop of Cincinnati, Ohio, and
a past president of the National
Conference of Catholic Bishops.
His writings, dearly the work of
a master teacher, are widely
read in various publications,
and one of his books, Twelve
Tough Issues: What the Catholic
Church Teaches -- and Why, is a
best seller also published by St.
Anthony Messenger.
presence in the world, respect zy and the frustration of the
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nity, love of neighbor, posses- than it can deliver, that its s,,es
sions, friendship with Jesus, Pitch is tinged with madness."
prayer, a universal Church, sin, And he has told us his purpose
Funeral Homes
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