Lagniappe: The Thing About New Orleans

That's the thing about New Orleans, now. It's a generous city. Give you what you want before you hardly know to ask for it. Trouble is, acourse, that a man wants a number of things that aren't particularly good for him. And those sort of things are a New Orleans specialty.

Owen Parry, Rebels of Babylon

That checks out!

Turtle on the Path

Turtle on the Path taken by AC Parker

If I hadn't seen the name of the photo I would have been puzzling over just what this object was. And then once you know ... it all comes into focus! I love it!

An Out of Doors Study

John Singer Sargent, An Out-of-Doors Study, 1889,
depicting Paul César Helleu sketching with his wife Alice Guérin

Lagniappe — That Dashed Greek Thing

“Went off in one of his pets as soon as he heard you wasn't home," said Ferdy. "Said he'd call on Revesby to answer for his villainy. Good God. I'm dashed if that Greek thing hasn't got after Monty too, Sherry! Very remarkable circumstance, 'pon my soul it is!"

"What the devil *is* all this about a dashed Greek?" demanded Sherry. "George was trying to tell me about him, but I'm hanged if I could make head or tail of it! All I know is, I'm not acquainted with any Greeks, and what's more I don't want to be!"

"It ain't a thing you're acquainted with, dear old boy. Duke knows what it is. Comes up behind a fellow when he ain't expecting it. Thought it was after me, but it turns out to be Monty. Good thing."

"Yes, but what *is* it?"

Mr. Tarleton said, with a quiver of amusement in his voice: "I fancy he means Nemesis."

"That's it!" Ferdy said, looking at him with respect. "Nemesis! You know him too?"

"Well, it's more than I do!" declared Sherry. "What's more, whoever he is, he had nothing to do with my coming to Bath!”

Georgette Heyer, Friday's Child

Georgette Heyer has long been one of my favorite authors and this lovely bit of inanity shows her at her comedic height. When she's on a roll it's like reading a screwball comedy.

Louis & Lola?

Louis & Lola ?-- TITANIC survivors, [1912 April]
Library of Congress on Flickr

Notes on Mark: Transfiguration as Suspension of Miracle

12th-century icon of the Transfiguration
Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sinai (Egypt)

MARK 9:2-8

The transfiguration is a mystery pure and simple. I would have been just as dumbfounded as the disciples who were there to witness it. 

I am not sure where I picked up this particular note, however, it is fascinating to see that St. Thomas Aquinas said the transfiguration was actually the cessation or suspension of a miracle. This is because Christ pulled aside the veil of flesh to allow His natural glory to be seen.

Mind-blowing, am I right?

Let's just wrap our minds around that for a bit and then I'll have some other people's take on the transfiguration for further mind-bending.

===== 

Sources and Notes Index   

Atonement Is Not Meant to Placate God

Paul wrote that "God put forward [Christ] as a sacrifice of atonement" (Rom 3:25), but the atonement or expiation is not directed to God; it s not meant to satisfy or placate God. Instead, it is directed to sin, that in its being satisfied it will be eliminated. "it can be said that it is God himself, not man, who expiates sin. … The image is more like that or removing a corrosive stain or neutralizing a lethal virus than that of anger that is placated by punishment" (James Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle).

Raniero Cantalamessa, The Power of the Cross

I love this image! I've never had the problem of worrying about an "angry God" but this is the perfect clarification for those who do.

Golden Bear

Golden Bear, Remo Savisaar

 As with every photo from Remo, this is simply gorgeous. Enjoy and click through to get to Remo's blog to see this larger and browse the other wonderful photos.

Vanity

Vanity, 1907, Frank Cowper

The modern world is not evil; in some ways the modern world is far too good.

The modern world is not evil; in some ways the modern world is far too good. It is full of wild and wasted virtues. When a religious scheme is shattered (as Christianity was shattered at the Reformation), it is not merely the vices that are let loose. The vices are, indeed, let loose, and they wander and do damage. But the virtues are let loose also; and the virtues wander more wildly, and the virtues do more terrible damage. The modern world is full of the old Christian virtues gone mad. The virtues have gone mad because they have been isolated from each other and are wandering alone. Thus some scientists care for truth; and their truth is pitiless. Thus some humanitarians only care for pity; and their pity (I am sorry to say) is often untruthful.

G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

I am continually surprised by how this guy nails it ... from 100 years ago.

Feast Day — The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist

Rogier van der Weyden, in his Beheading of John the Baptist,
transforms a horrific act into a scene of
elegance, subtle feeling and beauty-in-depth. (Paul Johnson)
For more about this painting, see this post.

 

Herod was the one who had John the Baptist arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. Herodias’ own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.” He even swore many things to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Mk 6:17-29

Today is the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist who, as scripture makes abundantly clear, was killed for speaking the truth, shining God's light into the dark, hidden corners of powerful people's lives. I especially love that he was killed simply because he told the truth and wouldn't back down. These days that seems like a very precious commodity.

The first time I heard of this feast I was doing an online retreat which directed us to look at our lives to find our sins, the things that keep us from God ... and to do it while asking for God's grace. That's the perfect focus for this celebration of John's martyrdom. This makes it clear that we can't do it alone. We need God's help to look at ourselves straight, clearly, without hiding from the truth. We have to ask Jesus to shine his light on us to see what is true. I look at Herod, who doesn't know quite what to make of John but who is intrigued. Possibly if he had been able to stand up to Herodias, been less worried about his reputation, he would have become a disciple of John and eventually Jesus. 

I look at Herodias, who knows perfectly well that she has done wrong but is willing to kill, and involve any number of others, including her own daughter, in order to not face her wrongdoings. I look at Herodias' daughter, who is so unable to tell right from wrong that she has no problem asking for the death of someone at her mother's behest. 

Last, but surely not least, I look at John who cares not for the consequences but continues to do what is right even at the ultimate cost to himself. Can I be like John who is willing to let the light shine on and through him? Perhaps, with God's grace, I can ... surely, I must at least strive for it.

His persecutor had demanded not that he should deny Christ, but only that he should keep silent about the truth. Nevertheless, he died for Christ. Does Christ not say: I am the truth? Therefore, because John shed his blood for the truth, he surely died for Christ.

Through his birth, preaching and baptizing, he bore witness to the coming birth, preaching and baptism of Christ, and by his own suffering he showed that Christ also would suffer.

Such was the quality and strength of the man who accepted the end of this present life by shedding his blood after the long imprisonment. He preached the freedom of heavenly peace, yet was thrown into irons by ungodly men; he was locked away in the darkness of prison, though he came bearing witness to the Light of life and deserved to be called a bright and shining lamp by that Light itself, which is Christ. John was baptized in his own blood, though he had been privileged to baptize the Redeemer of the world, to hear the voice of the Father above him, and to see the grace of the Holy Spirit descending upon him. But to endure temporal agonies for the sake of the truth was not a heavy burden for such men as John; rather it was easily borne and even desirable, for he knew eternal joy would be his reward.

St. Bede the Venerable homily, Office of Readings, Liturgy of the Hours

Feast Day for St. Augustine

This great saint's feast day is the day after his mother's. They always travel together, so to speak.

And since it's Friday, we're going to celebrate by eating meat!

Saint Augustine by Philippe de Champaigne

People look upon [the Church] and say, "She is about to die. Soon her very name will disappear. there will be no more Christians; they have had their day." while they are thus speaking, I see these very people die themselves, day by day, but the Church lives on.

===========

Do you know how we should read Holy Scripture? As when a person reads letters that have come from his native country, to see what news we have of heaven.

===========

The turbulent have to be corrected, the faint-hearted cheered up, the weak supported; the Gospel's opponents need to be refuted, its insidious enemies guarded against; the unlearned need to be taught, the indolent stirred up, the argumentative checked; the proud must be put in their place, the desperate set on their feet, those engaged in quarrels reconciled; the needy have to be helped, the oppressed to be liberated, the good to be encouraged, the bad to be tolerated; all must be loved. (St. Augustine, describing his daily life)

Just a few tidbits of wisdom from my first saint friend and a great Doctor of the Church, St. Augustine. His writing has informed a lot of my practical daily Catholic life.

At times his writing has soared way above my head (he was brilliant, after all) and I have by no means read even a fraction of it. But even the tidbits, the crumbs, that fall at my feet are gratefully received and have made a huge difference in my life.

Thank you St. Augustine! Pray for us!

(Read about this great saint's life at Catholic Culture.)

The Conversion of St. Augustine by Fra Angelico

From a Trip to St. Augustine, Florida

From a Trip to St. Augustine, Florida; via J.R.'s Art Place

Gorgeous! I loved visiting St. Augustine several years ago. The architecture is really beautiful in a lot of places.

And since today is the feast day of the saint for whom this city is named, I'm sharing this gorgeous image.