Thar's Unexpected Depths Beneath That Craggy Surface

You Are an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

On the surface, you're a little plain - but you have many subtle dimensions to your personality. Sometimes you're down to earth and crunchy. Other times, you're sweet and a little gooey.

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

Via Quoth the Maven

Oscar Wilde, Cloudspotting

Nobody of any real culture ... ever talks nowadays about the beauty of a sunset. Sunsets are quite old-fashioned. They belong to the time when Turner was the last note in art. To admire them is a distinct sign of provincialism of temperament. Upon the other hand they go on. Yesterday evening Mrs. Arundel insisted on my going to the window, and looking at the glorious sky, as she called it. Of course I had to look at it ... And what was it? It was simply a very second-rate Turner, a Turner of a bad period, with all the painter's worst faults exaggerated and over-emphasized.

Oscar Wilde, as quoted in The Cloudspotter's Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney

Oh, Oscar Wilde ... how did you manage to be so very funny?

This is an Amazing Clip

Tom found this on Digg. Take note of the name How to Put on a Bra ... there is nothing here that wouldn't be seen in a regular action movie to a James Bond movie so use your own judgment.

Jesus and Children

This reflects something that Fr. L. reminded us of in last week's Scripture study. Children had absolutely no legal rights in the ancient world. That is why taking care of widows and orphans was so praiseworthy. One would do it for no other reason than it was the right thing to do. There was absolutely nothing in it for the person helping out. Once again, I read about what life was like back then and I am struck with how similar many of our current ways are in the secular West.

In his tender affection for children Jesus stood in radical contradiction to the attitudes and practices of the empire of his day. The Romans and Greeks held that children were inferior beings, something less than fully human. Plato, Aristotle, and other philosophers of the ancient world approved the killing of unwanted children through abortion and infanticide, and they saw nothing wrong with using children for sexual gratification.

Jesus said it would be better to have a millstone tied around your neck and be plunged into the depths of the sea than to suffer God's judgment for scandalizing one of his little ones. From the beginning, the church fiercely defended children, even the unborn. The Didache ("Teaching"), the oldest surviving manual of church life, written in the mid-first century, warns: "You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish." The Christian philosopher Athenagoras, in a plea to Emperor Marcus Aurelius in 175, explained: "We regard the very fetus in the womb as a created being and therefore an object of God's care."

Catholic Passion by David Scott

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Oh, frabjous day! Calloo callay!

Dwight Longenecker is going to start standing things on their head in the blogosphere!

Now maybe only The Curt Jester (his other biggest fan, read why he's excited to see this blog beginning) and I see this as a cause for celebration because Longenecker isn't nearly well known enough for his wonderful books, which all are good at helping us see by standing things on their head.

I only have reviewed (and that briefly) Adventures in Orthodoxy. However, I also really loved St. Benedict & St. Therese: The Little Rule and the Little Way which I still use as inspiration for adhering to discipline in my personal life (too bad about all the backsliding but that's for another post), and More Christianity, which pushes the envelope on Mere Christianity by showing why Catholicism is wonderful.

Haven't read them? What are you waiting for?

As a bonus to see why I am such a fan, here's a link to an excerpt I posted back in the olden days when I had just begun blogging myself.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

A Gaggle of Quick Book Reviews

111. Guardian Angels: True Stories of Answered Prayers by Joan Wester Anderson
Like Anderson's other books about angels, this consists of anecdotes of miracles that real people have experienced in modern times. I'm a sucker for these and loved it. This really is more of a book about prayer than guardian angels although angels do figure largely in many of the anecdotes. In fact, partway through I actually forgot the book had "angels" in the title. No matter, real answers to prayer are wonderful to read, no matter how God chooses to do it.

109. Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? (Loyola Classics) by John Powers
110. The Lat Catholic in America by John Powers
I was stunned to read this book and find that it was full of mean-spirited stories about the Catholic Church. Now, before you even tell me, I know, I know, if you were raised Catholic before a certain time these stories are hilariously true. All I can say is that, to me as a convert of today, if those stories ring true then thank the Lord for Vatican II. Honestly, if one strips the veil of memory off and reads what Powers writes about the Church in these two books there is no way that one would find these stories original or amusing (yes, I actually suffered through a second to make sure that I was being fair to Powers). I am put in mind of Bill Bryson's books about traveling around America. I eagerly picked one up, having thoroughly enjoyed "English, Our Mother Tongue and How It Got That Way" and found that the reason Bryson must live in England is because he hates America ... or just wants to tell mean stories about Americans to make a buck. Powers is in the same category for me. Steer clear of this book.

108. Prayer Book of Catholic Devotions by William Storey
A delightful, small volume of prayers, readings, and devotions to use through the seasons and feasts of the liturgical year. I got this in ordinary time but am looking forward to using it to deepen my devotions during Advent.

107. The Devil's Advocate by Morris L. West from My Autumn Reading Challenge
Monsignor Blaise Meredith, who is dying of cancer, is sent to a small, isolated Italian town to be a Devil's Advocate for beautification of Giacomo Nerone. We see the story, told largely in flashbacks, of a controversial character in an isolated peasant village. A vivid portrait is painted of the people who knew Nerone and how their actions resulted in good and evil. All are in need of spiritual healing or guidance, and West clearly shows us the changes that are still being wrought in their lives by their memories of Nerone. The question of whether Nerone is actually a saint is left for us to decide and I, myself, am undecided on that particular question. However, in this book it is the journey that is important along with actions taken on the way ... as it is in our own lives. There is no question about that. Highly recommended.

106. The Essential Thomas Eakins by Alice A. Carter
It is continually amazing to me how much essential information is conveyed by these small but complete books. The entire series is highly recommended and this book in particular, if only for a look at this under appreciated artist whose highly scandalous life contributed to his lack of popularity.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

In the Midst of the Storm

Ten minutes into his descent, Rankin should have been reaching the ground, but the enormous draughts of air that surged up the core of the cloud were retarding his fall. Soon the turbulence became much more severe. He had no visual point of reference in the gloomy depths but he sense that, rather than falling, he was being shot upwards with successive violent gusts of rising air -- blasts that were becoming increasingly violent. And then for the first time he felt the full force of the cloud.

"It came with incredible suddenness -- and fury. It hit me like a tidal wave of air, a massive blast, fired at me with the savagery of a cannon ... I went soaring up and up and up as though there would be no end to its force." ...

The Cloudspotter's Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney

Pretor-Pinney certainly knows how to get my attention. Frankly, I am not that interested in the science of clouds which makes up about half of each chapter. Possibly anticipating this, he has been quite generous with attractive lures, such as the story of Lieutenant-Colonel William Rankin, a pilot in the US Air Force, who, in 1959, became the only man to fall through the heart of a cumulonimbus and live to tell the tale. Riveting stuff, y'all!

A Few More Memoirs and Family History

This is a continuation of the memories my mother has about her childhood times spent with her grandfather Charles J. Finger. I love these stories all the more for thinking of the book he wrote featuring my mother (Bobbie and Jock and the Mailman) because Jock was a Scottie ... illustrated by my Great Aunt Helen. I thought that I already had posted these but, better late than never, eh?

You all know the big table we have in the living room; that was the dining table in my grandfather's day. It came from his railroad days, as mentioned in the biography and he had it sent from (Cleveland?). People as famous as Carl Sand and Sinclair Lewis ate at it. I seem to remember fried chicken every Sunday, but I was only allowed boiled - how I craved that delicious fried, but it wasn't considered healthy for children. But what wonderful biscuits my grandmother made, and I scarfed them down loaded with her homemade srawberry jam. My grandfather would order a cup of maraschino cherries for me if we went to a restaurant ... my mother always thought they caused boils on my back. Oh well, what did they know.

There were double doors to the living room, and one year my Grandfather dressed up like Santa Claus and flung them open with drama. It was to be a great surprise, but I burst into tears, ran away, and hid. What a flop to a grand enterprise!

At the bottom of the hill was a true country store, selling cattle salt blocks, flour in print bags intended to be dresses, etc., and with gas pumps. I remember driving down there with my aunt; I thought she was the most wonderful person I had ever known. She SMOKED, she was very small, and she was so peppy and had a wonderful accent. Of course, she wasn't married and had no children so it was easy for her.

I actually remember hired hands squirting milk at cats during milking. Yes, trite as it sounds, they actually did that !

As I said before, hired help must have been really cheap. They mowed the grass, did laundry, but unfortunately never were hired to cook to help out my grandmother and mother. Charlie provided chickens, and Helen never had to do anything because she was an artist (my mother said). Don't know what the other two boys did ... one ran away from home and probably with good reason considering my grandfather's autocratic disposition. He was a wonderful grandfather, though.

There were screened porches around three sides of the house, and I seem to remember living out there most of the time. Since we usually visited only in the summer that would be natural. One morning I got up and found one of my shoes filled with cherry pits, apparently tucked in there by a mouse.

My aunt Helen raised Scotties, and Airdales. I loved the dogs, but was especially fascinated by seeing them eat rabbits, always head first. There was a fish pond in the middle of the front yard, and I remember one of the puppies drowning there; Beverly also fell in once but was quickly retrieved. The pond was surrounded by old fashioned petunias, and their fragrance always takes me back to those days and reminds me of my sweet grandmother who loved them.

OK, now you have the best of my very young childhood memories, for better or worse. You might want to compile some of yours for your own children. Old age comes quicker than you think! I have regretted many times not sitting down with my parents and talking with them about earlier years.

Islam Vs. Christianity: Finding Common Ground

Oy veh! Talk about funny ... and insightful. Via The Anchoress.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

The Flesh of Jesus

Oh Saint Augustine ... how perfectly put is this elegant phrase that so thoroughly sums up Jesus' example for us as a perfect human, God among us, showing us how to live. I shouldn't be surprised but that was the "twist" that made me sit up and think again.

St. Augustine, the fifth-century African who was the church's seminal teacher, penned a striking phrase to describe the example of Jesus: Caro quasi vox ("Christ's flesh is like a voice"). What he meant is that at every state of Jesus' earthy life -- his life in the flesh -- he is calling to us, inviting us personally to live in the mystery of divine love that he reveals...

Catholic Passion by David Scott

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Poetry Thursday

A limited series by the house poet (there's nothing like a Creative Writing class for a regular output of poetry): Rose.

Nightmare

Faded picture in my mind
Of nightmares from the past
Of the present, I am blind

Twenty monsters of a kind
As my heart beats fast
Faded pictures in my mind

I open doors I cannot find
The traps have all been cast
Of the present, I am blind

The roads, the walls, the trees wind
I stumble off the path
Faded picture in my mind

My arms, my legs, my tongue, they bind
I fall, the abyss is vast
Of the present, I am blind

My face is now old and lined
Many years have past
Faded picture in my mind
Of the present, I am blind

Notes from College

Thanks to all who have kindly asked after Hannah's progress at A&M. She seems to be having a great time and has most of her classes under control. Except perhaps ... math.

Why can't Farmer Johnson solve his own problems? Every time he needs to know how many acres of soy beans, corn and wheat to plant with 80,000 dollars and 600 hours of labor to spare if the cost of seeds is $4 for soy and $6 for wheat or corn and labor is 6 hours per acre for soy, 2 for wheat, and 7 for corn, I have to calculate this bumpkin's assets and tell him how to run a farm.

There's pretty much no denying that logic. Obviously the answer is that Farmer Johnson shouldn't have a farm ... or won't for much longer if he can't start figuring these things out for himself.

Avast There, D'Ye Know What Day It Is?

How quickly the holidays roll around ... 'tis International Talk Like a Pirate Day. (Which was significantly funnier before Tom and Rose watched Wife Swap last night, one family of which was the Talk Like a Pirate Family who ... ready for this? ... actually live like pirates year 'round. Evidently with fleas and all. *shudder*)

Maybe you need help with pirate talk (Warning: there are some potions that are mildly off color and guaranteed to offend some, but we're talking about pirates here. Much thanks to DL for this which he found in yesterday's issue of the daily--Good Morning Silicon Valley.)

Or maybe you just need to listen to a good pirate story to get in the mood (nothing objectionable here, just hilarious). 'Tis a fearful tale indeed, of the sea, serving wenches, and fragmented hard drives. Only the brave should rally round.

There be chicken pirates as well, if ye take the time to look.

And then take the time to pity this poor lad who fell afoul of a scurvey bunch of rogues in a raiding party.

Why Dogs Bite People - 3

God's Confession

Our Deliverer and God came by the quietest of signs, in the everyday miracle of a baby being born -- the same way that you and I came into the world. He was born amid tears of joy, swaddled in a blanket, and held in the gentle arms of his father. On the first night of his life, he likely fell asleep nursing, his head nestled against his mother's warm breast -- like countless babies before him and countless babies since.

Why this way? Why not in power and glory, in fire that swept down from the mountaintops, in the upheaval of nations, or in the blood red stars falling from the sky? Because in coming to us as a child, God was making what amounts to an "autobiographical" statement. The Incarnation was God's confession, his full disclosure. In the baby conceived at Nazareth and later born in a stable in Bethlehem, God revealed himself as a God of love and mercy -- a Father who seeks us in the wilderness of our fallen world. ...

Catholic Passion by David Scott

The thing I like about reading this book is that David Scott takes something that I already know, such as the idea that Jesus came to show us what God is like, and then twists it. Adds that phrase or two that makes me rethink what I "already knew" and realize that I do not know it as well as I thought. In this case, talking about God's "autobiographical statement," "full disclosure," and "confession" made me take a fresh look.

Scott's entire book has been doing that so as I go through it I will be sharing bits along the way (as always). I think the overall thing that I can say about it right now, about a third of the way through, is that it adds the poetry, imagery, and turn of phrase to more fully communicate the true, inner beauty of our faith. Even when you think you know where he is going, he adds a extra fillip of insight to make you take another look. A rare accomplishment indeed. I have seen rave reviews for this book and I understand why.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Encountering Opposition

... Christianity has too often been in what appeared at the time to be fatal danger for us now to be frightened by yet another such test. The ways by which Providence ransoms and saves its elect are unforeseeable. At times, our enemy becomes a friend; at times he is despoiled of the capacity for evil that made him fearsome; at times he auto-destructs, or, without desiring it, produces beneficial effects and simply vanishes without leaving a trace. Generally, the Church does not have to do anything but persevere with peace and confidence in the fulfillment of its tasks, remain serene, and await salvation from God. (Cardinal J.H. Newman)

The moments in which we encounter opposition and difficulties without exaggerating them are particularly propitious for exercising a whole range of virtues: we should pray for those who do evil to us even without our knowing it, so that they may leave off offending God; we can strive to make amends to the Lord, to be even more apostolic, and to protect with exquisite charity those weaker brothers in the faith who on account of their age, their lack of formation, or the special situations they find themselves in, could sustain a greater harm to their souls.

In Conversation With God Vol 4

I especially like the point that Cardinal Newman made about how many times Christianity has seemed to be in danger and how it always has been saved. It seems that too often we hear Christians bemoaning the fate of the faith's existence in the modern world without remembering that point.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Why Dogs Bite People - 2

Why Dogs Bite People - 1

From my inbox ... thanks Marcia!


For some reason I'm already starting to look forward to Halloween ... and it isn't even October!

America Gets "F" for End of the World Preparedness

WASHINGTON, DC—Over 87 percent of Americans are unprepared to protect themselves from even the most basic world-ending scenarios, according to a study released Monday by the nonpartisan doomsday think-tank The Malthusian Institute....

... The study found that many apocalypse-preparedness measures are cost-prohibitive. With virtually no tax incentives in place, many Americans share the "dangerous perception" that only the richest few can afford to survive the extinction of humanity.

"I just renovated my house with cantilevered leaden cofferdams for increased earthquake and radiation protection, and I'm working on a pantheistic altar to appease the god or gods most likely to return to this world with an insatiable wrath," said Seattle resident Tim Hanson, whose actions were praised in the study as a "highly rare display of prescience and vigilance."

"I installed solar panels and a generator so I could live off the grid for a while," Hanson added. "But it cost so much that now I might not be able to have the altar properly gilded. At least not in time." ...

Oh, The Onion ... how do they manage to be so funny? Read the whole hilarious story.

Loving Challenges

... Life involves so many challenges; by paying attention to the ways that God has gifted us, we can begin to appreciate the ways our gifts enable us to live more fully.

Great athletes love challenges. While watching the Olympics recently, I was struck by how many athletes talked about wanting to break a world record or beat a particular opponent. Instead of seeing these challenges as roadblocks to their own comfort and ease, they saw them as opportunities to let their gifts manifest themselves. Often, these athletes had to face great hurdles; many did not accomplish what they had hoped. But they were grateful for the chance. I often wish that I could bring a similar drive into ordinary life, with the ability to see challenges as ways to manifest the gifts God has given me. But the truth is that, more often, I see them as unnecessary hassles and often blame God for that.

The Ignatian Workout: Daily Spiritual Exercises for a Healthy Faith

I have to admit that I am not in the habit of loving challenges. I hear the word "challenge" and my mind substitutes "problem" or "difficulty" or "hardship." Yep, corporate speak has done a number on me and I know what they mean when they say "challenge."

However, recently I have found myself in the very situation that is spoken of here with the athletes who are grateful to have challenges so they can see how they will do when facing them. This came up partly because of My Autumn Reading Challenge and partly because of a book I have recently read and will blog about soon, Dante to Dead Man Walking: One Reader's Journey Through the Christian Classics.

Thanks to those challenges I am reading books that I normally would shun. More to the point I am reading and enjoying those books. I never would have had that opportunity had I not been given most of them. Certainly I wouldn't have chosen them for myself. But because I was given them and by the publisher I feel honor bound to read and review them. (Funnily enough, books given by a friend don't hold the same onus. I am totally fine with ignoring gift books for years ... even forever.)

Because I have accepted these reading assignments as challenges I have been enriched. Even the books that I didn't like or discarded taught me something, whether about the author, the book, or myself. I have even found myself looking forward to seeing what the next "challenging" book will bring. Which makes at least that particular challenge worthwhile.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

The Lingering Effects of Suffering

I never, ever thought of this. Never. What an eye opening idea this is for me.

Notice that the risen Jesus still bears his wounds. How can it be otherwise? In our own lives, times of suffering may lead to times of peace and joy, but we cannot escape the lingering effects of suffering. It permanently changes us -- we cannot pretend that it never happened. That the risen Jesus still bears his wounds is good news, for it tells us that there is a continuity between the lives we have now and the lives that we will enjoy in the Resurrection. Jesus is the same person. His wounds, though, are different: they are not a source of suffering but a source of recognition. It is only through seeing Jesus' wounds that Thomas recognizes him. In the Resurrection, we will still bear the effects of the hurts that have been done to us, but they will no longer cause us pain.

The Ignatian Workout: Daily Spiritual Exercises for a Healthy Faith

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Hah!

From my mouth to Apple's ears.
Nice to see that they understood my desire for colors was not a request!

Now, let's all remember "green" shall we? Just in case anyone is in doubt when choosing gifts.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

The Ultimate Freedom

... Through the lens of the Resurrection, life is not bounded by death -- and thus we achieve our freedom in no longer being afraid of it. For while all of us will die one day, our understanding of death changes because of the Resurrection: death becomes little more than the closing of one chapter of our lives and the beginning of another. The resurrected Jesus was almost nonchalant about his own death -- extraordinary, since we might expect that someone in his situation could come back to wreak havoc on the political establishment that executed him. Why didn't he hunt down his enemies? Why didn't he use his return from the dead as a platform to call attention to his own power?

Perhaps the reason is because Jesus was truly free. He was not concerned about the pettiness of so much social and political action; he was alive and wanted to bring good news to his friends. Perhaps too he was more concerned with inviting his friends to share that joy.

The Ignatian Workout: Daily Spiritual Exercises for a Healthy Faith

And isn't that really the most attractive thing about the real Christians that we know? Their joy, their love of life and wanting to share that joy with others? I know it is for me.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

"If you've got the right lawyer we have the best legal system in the world"

Has anyone else been watching Justice?

This show is just plain fun to watch. Victor Garber is thoroughly enjoying being let loose as the media spin head of the firm and Jerry Bruckheimer knows how to put together a fast-paced, enjoyable show that has you wondering by the end whether the firm's client is really innocent. (You have to wonder because the firm doesn't care ... except for the main lawyer who tries the case.) At the end an epilogue is shown with what really happened.

We have been enjoying the heck out of the first two episodes. You might wanna give it a try.

Word Geek

CONSTABLE
Now used as on official term for law enforcement officers, this word began in the horse stables. In ancient Rome, the official version was comes stabuli, literally meaning "count of the stable," or the head groom. By the 1200s, the Old French version, conestable, was used to refer to the head officer of a king's household and by the 1500s, the current use had arisen.

I'd never have guessed ... fascinating!

Bad to the Bone But Not Beyond God's Grace

SAINTS BEHAVING BADLY
The Cutthroats, Crooks, Trollops, Con Men, and Devil-Worshippers Who Became Saints
by Thomas J. Craughwell

The point of reading these stories is not to experience some tabloid thrill, but to understand how grace works in the world. Every day, all day long, God pours out his grace upon us, urging us, coaxing us, to turn away from everything that is base and cheap and unsatisfying, and to turn toward the only thing that is eternal, perfect, and true -- that is, himself.

I must admit that I came to this slender book with a lot of preconceptions.

Fascinated by saints when I became Catholic six years ago, I sought out and read many books about all sorts of saints from the well known to the obscure. They were written in varying styles ranging from cozy friendliness talking of "our friends the saints" to those of strict scholarship and research. Therefore, I wondered if I would find many new saints in this book although I must admit that, for the life of me, I really couldn't remember one who was a devil-worshipper as referenced in the subtitle.

The idea that today's stories of saints have become too clean cut and white washed for us to relate to is really not that new. Many of those aforementioned books also mentioned that same thing and then proudly would parade each saint's imperfections that would make them more human, one of us. How bad could these saints be really? These days haven't we seen pretty much every sort of shocking behavior known to man and learned that God can work through it all?

However, Craughwell is not a predictable sort of author although he is one that I hope to encounter often in the future. I was pleased to see his forward included a defense of not including Mary Magdalene in the book since she was not a harlot, although that reputation has since overtaken her in many circles. That was a good start which he soon improved on in leaps and bounds as he went from one saint to another with astonishing pieces of information and insight.

I soon found out that what I didn't know, even about the best loved saints could, well, fill a book.

For instance I knew that St. Augustine was converted to Christianity by St. Ambrose. However, I didn't know that it was because Ambrose, with great courage, refused Emperor Theodosius' order to turn over a Catholic church to Arian heretics and barricaded himself and his congregation inside the church to see what the emperor would do. (The emperor backed down.)

Likewise, St. Mary of Egypt is well known for being a prostitute who repented for a lifetime of sin by living as a hermit in the desert. Except that she wasn't a prostitute. She was a skilled seductress who seduced men for the sheer pleasure of doing so. Somehow that makes it so much worse, doesn't it?

Then there is St. Christopher, the well-loved traveler's saint, whose demotion by the Vatican because he never existed enraged my father in law. Actually, it turns out that is a religious urban legend. He is still a saint in good standing whose celebration day was removed from the overcrowded calendar but who churches and the faithful are still free to celebrate and invoke as they will.

Craughwell also provides a plethora of stories of lesser known saints who are nonetheless fascinating. There are the three saints whose stories are intertwined and who actually managed to shock me. Why? I was truly shocked to find that Callixtux, an embezzler turned Christian, who still couldn't seem to resist crime wound up being ... pope. In an ironic case of the pot calling the kettle black, Callixtux was denounced by Hippolytus an anti-pope who manipulated results and fought off other papal contenders. Callixtux then stunned me by winding up ... sainted. Yep. As did Hippolytus. In the middle of it all was Pontian, yet another pope who wound up being sainted. This may sound confusing but in Craughwell's skillful hands these stories wind up being enthralling.

Often Craughwell, sheds light on people who were close to well known saints but who have been cast into the shade by their more famous friends. Such is the case of Alipius, who was St. Augustine's best friend from all appearances. He went where Augustine went, studied what he studied, converted when Augustine converted. The only difference was that he had a debilitating addiction to blood sports that no one, not even his best buddy Augustine, could persuade him to give up. Until St. Ambrose came on the picture. That was when Alipius converted and eventually wound up as a bishop in a town near St. Augustine's.

The more shocking stories are those of St. Olga the queen who avenged her husband's betrayal by planning and carrying out a killing spree of thousands for revenge. Yet she became a saint. Likewise, St. Olaf, a Viking, also was no stranger to brutality and mass murder but changed his pagan ways upon conversion to Christianity. His brutal methods of converting his own violent society are shocking in themselves but the results are undeniable. Norway soon became Christian and did not revert to paganism after Olaf's death.

The author does not spend time drawing out the point of each saint's story in moralistic, "so let's take this lesson away" terms. He leaves us to draw our own conclusions. I liked it that way. Each of us must draw our own conclusions and come to terms with God in our own way. That is also very likely to be the way that saints speak to us, even the ones that had the most shocking pasts. We can be thankful to Craughwell for bringing these stories so vividly to life as reminders for us of the depth and breadth of God's grace to the sinner, no matter how bad their past has been.

This book will be at bookstores on September 19.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

And also with you, pilgrim.

Saturno? That's Italian for "cowboy hat" ... right?

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Dashing Through the Movies

NIGHT WATCH
The much vaunted "Russian vampire movie" that broke all the Russian box office records and that generated a lot of buzz among movie reviewers. I don't think I have ever watched another Russian movie and know very little about the culture. I have a feeling that there were some contextual things that totally got by us although you didn't really need much context. Quick summary ... "a la Matrix" but with more blood and scissors (euwww). A bit more description: long ago the forces of dark and light forged a truce to keep the balance between good and evil so that all would not perish in the fight. This resulted in the Night Watch (the light keeping watch) and the Day Watch (the dark keeping watch). Each is policing the other side to make sure the truce is kept. Into this, legend tells us (of course), that there will come one who will be greater than the others and who will choose the dark. And off we go, quite stylishly, with lots of driving rock soundtrack, and an apocalyptic fight between good and evil. Rose liked it better than we did (did I mention the blood? and the scissors?). Not the best of the genre but far from being the worst.

(HC rating: *** Good despite lack of flubber)

GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK
Edward R. Murrow and his producer take on Joseph McCarthy at the height of the witch hunts to stand up for truth, justice, and the American Way. George Clooney writes, directs, and acts. *yawn* This was beautifully acted, photographed, etc. Now, if only there had been the slightest bit of dramatic tension to engage us in the story it would have been a four star movie. All three of us felt as if we had been watching a documentary, except then we'd possibly have been given more information. We watched without ever feeling the slightest doubt that Murrow would get his way and that justice would prevail. This was without us having any idea of how Murrow fit into the actual story of McCarthy's witch hunt so we couldn't even blame foreknowledge as a spoiler.

(HC rating: ** More boring than church. All you did was yak, yak, yak)

SHOPGIRL
A lonely, depressed girl who sells gloves at Saks Fifth Avenue must choose in love between the rich Steve Martin and the loser alternative met in the laundromat. Although we felt sure that she'd wind up with laundromat loser (can you tell I can't remember his name? We saw this a while back.) we couldn't see how that would happen. Steve Martin's character was so much more desirable seeming. As it turns out this movie was exactly what I read in one critic's summary ... predictable overall but darned if you can predict the little twists along the way.

It wasn't the romantic comedy that the trailers would lead you to believe but I found it quite realistic in the ways that lonely people make choices, both good and bad, and in the lies that they tell themselves along the way. This put me strongly in mind of Lost in Translation in it's understated quality. We also appreciated the fact that it illustrates what Tom often tells the girls, "You can't manage love."

Let me forestall any objections in the comments ... yes, these people all hop into bed quickly and often and without being married. Not desirable to be sure, but also definitely the way that many people live these days. It also serves as its own cautionary tale in terms of the complications that ensue due to the intimacy that comes too soon and for the wrong reasons.

WARNING: as is so often lamentably the case, the PG-13 rating is not adequate. Rose watched this with us and we felt slightly squeamish a couple of times. She's 16. I wouldn't want my 13-year-old to see this.

(HC rating: Nine thumbs up!)

Serving Christ in the Ordinary

Imagine that Christ came to you one day and said, "I need you and you are the only person in the whole world who can do this. Will you help me?" Who could refuse? Who wouldn't want to be an agent sent by Christ himself? But then imagine that Christ said, "I need you to be a friend to the old woman who lives next door to you." What would you do? There is a certain glamour in having a life purpose, imagining that everything one does in life is oriented toward some great ideal. But it's very different if one's life purpose is to carry out a very mundane task. It is much easier to imagine following Christ as a knight sent on brave errands than as an ordinary person befriending a widow. For most of us, Christ's call will look much more like the second option. It will not be glamorous or exciting; in fact, much of the time it might be pretty ordinary. But if we are following Christ, then even the ordinary becomes part of the fabric of a holy life.

There is no escape from the ordinary. No matter who we are, no matter what we do, there are going to be parts of our lives that are repetitious and boring. What makes these periods tolerable is the knowledge that they contribute to something greater. ...

The Ignatian Workout: Daily Spiritual Exercises for a Healthy Faith

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Knitting Addiction

We will never know whether knitters are addicted to yarn or to the act of knitting. To find out, we'd need to take someone's yarn away and see how she feels. I can't do that to another knitter. The ethical questions are too tricky.

Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks

I don't have a stash like truly dedicated knitters, although I do have a few balls of sock yarn tucked away for upcoming projects. Even with that small supply, the thought of someone taking it away ... well, let's just not go there.

In the Future, When "Catholic" Has Become "catholic"

CATHOLICS by Brian Moore

Short and easy to read. In fact I read it in one day. Written in 1972, this book could be put in under science fiction without any problem. In the future, after Vatican IV, the Church is working toward convergence with Buddhism, the Mass is symbolic, and there is no such thing as private confession. The only place on the planet practicing the Latin Mass, a small island off of Ireland, has been heretofore unknown but thanks to the hordes of pilgrims it attracts, not to mention, television specials, the Church is now sending out a priest to set things straight. His confrontation with the Irish priest is not quite what we'd expect. We discover that, contrary to expectations, it is not passion for the Mass that led this priest to defy the Vatican. Quite the opposite, it is a lack of faith, not wanting to rock the boat, that led him to hang onto the old ways.

I was riveted to see what the conclusion would be to the old priest's confrontation with the "Vatican's man" who believes in the new Catholic ways. I will not spoil it here for other readers. Suffice it to say, that I have had this book in mind quite a lot in the last few days, especially during Mass yesterday. I am going to recommend this book for our book club.

(Read as part of my Autumn Reading Challenge.)

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

How to Succeed in Evil

How to Succeed in Evil is not a self-help page for the maladjusted. It it is the story of Edwin Windsor, Evil Efficiency Consultant. He's like Arthur Anderson for Supervillains.

Just because a person can melt walls by winking at them or build a device to threaten the very fabric of our reality doesn't mean that they know how to manage investments or squeeze money out of a scheme. Just look at M.C. Hammer. (Not that he's evil or super -- just that he's exquisitely bad with money.)

But the problem with supervillains is that they are all too egomaniacal to listen to good advice. (They always pay, but they never listen.) So Edwin gets so fed up with this state of affairs and decides to go into business for himself. This results in an efficient, ruthless (and often very funny) brand of evil.

Edwin quickly becomes something more than a villain and less than a hero. He takes out villains because they are "incompetent and inefficient" and heroes because they are "ineffectual and in the way." He often does the right thing for the wrong reason. Which, as fans can tell you, is very entertaining.

If you listen to no other podcast, please do try this one (I'm beggin' ya here!).

An original, entertaining, cleverly written series about Edwin, this is also available as a comic book although I haven't seen it.

How to Succeed in Evil (episode archives are here and here).

Quick Review: Terry Gilliam's Best Movie!

THE BROTHERS GRIMM

Of course I haven't seen them all but between us we've seen a pretty fair representation of them. Basically, the Grimm brothers are tricksters trading upon old fairy tales to go from town to town "inventing" witches and trolls and then ridding the town of them. They are arrested and taken to a place where the authorities are convinced that other con artists are pulling the same stunt, except in this town ten girls have disappeared in the nearby, sinister woods. Suffice it to say that the place is cursed and an inventive mixture of common European fairy tales is shown in thoroughly creepy style in the process. The brothers must solve the curse or they will die, either through the curse itself or through execution as punishment by the authorities.

This reminded me strongly of Tim Burton's Legend of Sleepy Hollow except that we all felt it was much better. Gilliam, as always, takes risks. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't but I can always appreciate the effort being made. That is the element that makes this less than perfect movie a much better use of time than something like Nacho Libre for example.

That said, I really appreciated Matt Damon's and Heath Ledger's acting. They turned in solid performances in roles that were much different from their usual star turns. I especially came away with an appreciation of Ledger's abilities, when taken in conjunction with his role in Lords of Dogtown. In both cases, he was virtually unrecognizable (except for his voice) and turned in very good performances in less than attractive roles. He may be someone who we will be watching with appreciation in many years to come as he matures as an actor.

(HC rating: Good despite lack of flubber)

Clouds and Elephants

According to ancient Hindu and Buddhist beliefs Cumulus clouds are the spiritual cousins of elephants, which is why the animals are worshipped, with a view to bringing rain after India;'s scorching summer heat. "Megha," meaning cloud in classical Hindi, is the name used to address elephants in these prayers. The Sanskrit creation myths describe how elephants created at the beginning of time were white, had wings to fly, could change their shape at will and had the power to bring rain. Although they have now lost these magical powers, the present-day descendants of those early Uber-elephants are still believed to have an affinity with the clouds -- especially the albino ones.

It is somewhat alarming to learn that eighty elephants weigh about as much as the water droplets in a medium-sized Cumulus -- a Cumulus mediocris -- would if you added them all together. (This is assuming the cloud occupies one cubic kilometre (about 0.24 cubic miles), which is not particularly large for a Cumulus. The droplets will commonly have a combined weight of 220 tons. The average Asian elephant weighs 3 tons.) for, although the droplets in a Cumulus cloud are extremely small, there are one hell of a lot of them. ...

The Cloudspotter's Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney

I was sent a review copy of this charming book, which I opened with a good amount of trepidation upon receipt. So far it is a real treasure in a typically eccentric British way, with the science of clouds interwoven with a true love of cloud watching and stories. The science is told in a very understandable way. After all, who can resist the image of a lava lamp to describe how heat acts upon water molecules to make Cumulus clouds? I know I can't.

In the Religion Section Today

The usual, annoying free registration is required for the complete stories from the Dallas Morning News.

Satan: Father's Little Helper?

"Christian tradition has laid a lot of blame on Satan for things they're causing themselves," said Dr. Kelly, 72, a former Jesuit exorcist and now a medieval scholar at the University of California, Los Angeles and author of three books about the devil. "I am pessimistic about human nature. I think we are totally capable of doing what we have done. You can blame it on psychosis if you want."

But you can't blame it on Satan, he said.

Ummm, yes. Yes, I can. No amount of spin is going to change the facts. There is an Evil One. Not that we don't create plenty of our own problems on our own. We definitely do. But let's not leave out that other component.

Turkish Kid Books Get Added Character: Allah

Book publishers in Turkey have reprinted several children's classics with Islamic elements inserted into the storylines. The move came in reaction to controversy over including such titles in the government's recommended reading list for students.

In "Pinocchio," when the wooden puppet arrives at the end of his quest, he exclaims to his maker, Geppetto, "Thanks be to Allah, I am a real boy!" Earlier in the book he says, "If Allah wills it, please give me some bread."

Read the Three Musketeers example. What adds to that revision is the knowledge that Aramis was in the company of religious men because he had decided to become a priest. Luckily, the Turkish Minister of Education feels about this the same way that I do. "'If you like Heidi, then write your own 'Heidi,' he said in the Turkish newspaper Radikal." (Scroll down in Briefs for this story which has other examples of changed books.)

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

What Does This Quote Make You Think Of?

... infinitesimal distinctions between man and man are too paltry for an Omnipotent Being. How these madmen give themselves away! The real God taketh heed lest a sparrow fall; but the God created from human vanity sees no difference between an eagle and a sparrow. . .

Hearing it this morning read from Librivox, this jumped out at me from the rest of the story. I thought of pro-abortion people, judging that a tiny baby (even if only a few cells big at the time) is less important than all their daily affairs.

I was quite surprised.

The reason being that I was listening to one of my all-time favorite books ... read aloud by Librivox.

Dracula by Bram Stoker.

That's Reveille, Ma'am to You!

Reveille, the first lady of Aggieland, is the official mascot of Texas A&M University. She is the highest ranking member of the Corps of Cadets, and she is a Five-Star General.

Hannah saw Reveille being walked yesterday. She was on the way to class or would have summoned the courage to ask if she could meet and pet the honored Aggie mascot. However, we all showed our distinct lack of appreciation for tradition and the corp by bursting into laughter when she told us that cadets must address Reveille as "ma'am."

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Blog Design By ...

... the oh so fabulous, generous and talented Laura! Give her a hand folks ... isn't she fantastic?

Although the color changes showing up now are due to my tinkering and not Laura's design ... all shall be resolved in due time.

Also, as always when I change templates, Haloscan code is giving me fits ... comments will be back on eventually but for now I must run. Cheers, y'all!

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Memoirs and the Family Tree

I mentioned my great-grandfather the other day.

A recap which probably only family members will care about: Charles J. Finger was famous in his own day, although that fame hasn't extended to the present day. My grandmother worshipped his memory and I heard countless stories about author Charles J. Finger. My grandmother told me that he was a regular correspondent with Jules Verne (or was it H.G. Wells?) and would write letters at a big table which my mother inherited and that stands in her living room today.

Looking around I was surprised to see that he has a mention in Wikipedia and the Encyclopedia Britannica (though I didn't subscribe to read the whole article). There's even a park named after him though that photo makes it look more like a field. Well, knock me over with a feather. Grandmama would be so proud.

This prompted my mother to reminisce about her days with her grandfather. I loved these memories of a little girl for her grandfather and of time spent in the country back then.

In reference to your entry about Charles J. Finger; I had no idea that he was so interestingly involved both in the literary and the down to earth business of making a living.

He was my grandfather, and I remember him as delightfully indulgent of a little girl. There was one afternoon when he encouraged me to look for a four leaf clover, and after finally inding one we went into the house and found another surprise: books! I can remember stealing up the lane to his separate office, which also included a pool table room where I played with the balls. I wasn't supposed to go up there and interrupt him, but of course I did. He died when I was seven years old, but his personal impact must have been immense because I remember him vividly (I'm 72), he was definitely a Leo personality although born in December.

The house was surrounded on two sides by what were known as sleeping porches, screened, and comfortable in Arkansas's hot summers. I remember having an outhouse to go to, and a freestanding "shower house" with cold sulpher water. There was also a wash house, which had its own walled yard (filled with cornflowers) for drying clothes. Neighboring ladies did the wash, and I seem to remember It having a hot water boiler. Lockers on the front screened porch of the house held wood for the cookstove on which water was heated, and I suppose for winter warmth. There was a stove in the middle of the house which heated some rooms; don't remember what the heat source was.

As long as I have started, I might tell more ... just because it's a bygone era. Cows were milked and the milk left to stand in wide pans on another screened porch, after which cream was skimmed for butter. My first food memory is of oatmeal, in an island of cream and topped with sugar.
My grandmother made wonderful plum jelly, quite tart, from wild plums that grew on the farm.

I never fell down a well, although often warned to stay away; they were just irresistable open holes in the ground, often with unfortunate rabbits floating there in.

There was a creek to wander along, always accompanied by one of the family Airdales. Along one side were shale banks where you could sit at the top and slither down on the seat of your pants for an exciting ride.

There were lots of freestanding stone buildings: my grandfather's office, my uncle Charlie's chicken house, the wash house, the shower, and my artist aunt Helen's studio with its two rooms, one of which was for serious drawing and the other of props for her Ozark themes( stone fireplace, milk churn, etc. )The studio and the house both looked west for beautiful sunsets. Apparently there was lots of cheap labor, and of course lots of stone. And speaking of milk churns, we did ours in a glass job where you could see the tiny flecks of butter emerging from the milk until it got too hard to crank.

A small flock of sheep were nutured here; I can still remember the way they smelled (hello... wet wool) as well as the bran they were fed. Once the ram butted me, and my grandfather bapped him on the head with a long pruning tool. And once I took Beverly, a small child, into the sheep lot, where everyone said she could have been trampled and killed. Also, speaking of Beverly, this was the farm where we were walking down the lane and she had to go to the bathroom, so I told her to go home. Unfortunately she walked by the entrance ... no one could find her ... a party was dispatched to see if she had fallen into the outhouse. Eventually an old gent who lived up the hill brought her home, and I hope he was very liberally tipped. The road was suspect, because at the top was a slaughterhouse, so trucks seemed to roar up and down.

I can remember Sunday afternoons when people would just show up at friends' houses and yell "Yoo-hoo". Then they would have to produce iced tea and chat. Oh, and what a yummy memory is the church fest where we had chocolate cake and ate it sitting on a swinging bridge over a creek.

Is this sounding just too Laura Ingalls Wilder? Well, maybe this was a step between her culture and and the time when you were born.

What a lot of memories! Maybe boring to you, but something you might like to know about my childhood years in Arkansas. Just think, I actually lived with these years ... no computers ... no hot water heaters ... and absolutely no air conditioning anywhere. There was running water.

The property was actually called "Gayeta Lodge", which I was always told meant "old soldiers' home".

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

What I Have "Failed to Do"

Idleness is a constant temptation to our human nature. Hitting the snooze button one more time, skipping or shortening our prayer, sitting back and letting others wait on us, not noticing what needs to be done, being content with a shoddy job, finishing what we prefer to do rather than being on time for a commitment, saying no to another’s pressing need—we all face temptations like this every day.

Read more at Word Among Us

This is the kind of thing that is my besetting sin ... literally! I struggle with it all day long. Which makes it rather frustrating if I go to confession and get a priest who tells me, "It's simple. Just set a schedule for yourself and stick to it." Well duh! Problem being that I have trouble with it!

However, even if I feel less than satisfied with the priest's advice, I still receive grace to give me extra strength to fight off these and other temptations and shortcomings, and absolution for all the times that I have failed and did not do what I should have.

Can y'all tell I'm working up toward going to confession soon?

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Terrorists Are Getting Pretty Smart!

We're doomed!
Thanks to my brother for this one!
(Somehow I knew I should have put this caveat before receiving protests ... my brother is a retired soldier who has served in many areas including several assignments to Iraq and Afghanistan. It was making the rounds of his buddies who ... and this is only a guess ... I'd bet are in the military also.)

Novena to St. Michael, The Archangel: Day One

I am saying this for a friend's special intention.

Saint Michael the Archangel, loyal champion of God and His people,
I turn to you with confidence and seek your powerful intercession.
For the love of God, Who made you so glorious in grace and power,
and for the love of the Mother of Jesus, the Queen of the Angels,
be pleased to hear my prayer.

You know the value of my soul in the eyes of God.
May no stain of evil ever disfigure its beauty.
Help me to conquer the evil spirit who tempts me.
I desire to imitate your loyalty to God and Holy Mother Church
and your great love for God and people.
And since you are God’s messenger for the care of His people,
I entrust to you this special request:

(Mention your request).

Saint Michael, since you are, by the Will of the Creator,
the powerful intercessor of Christians,
I have great confidence in your prayers.
I earnestly trust that if it is God’s holy will my petition will be greated.

Pray for me, Saint Michael, and also for those I love.
Protect us in all dangers of body and soul.
Help us in our daily needs.
Through your powerful intercession,
may we live a holy life,
die a happy death, and reach heaven
where we may praise and love God with you forever.
Amen.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

I don't even like Family Guy ...

... but this cracked me up.

Edge of the Sea ... a Russian Mission

I still lament the loss of Mary Herboth's wonderful blog and count myself lucky to be on her email list. She sends this request which I, in turn, present to you for consideration. Here is the blog for the mission she writes about.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I'm writing to you today to share a simple story of a missionary priest in Russia and to ask for your help. I need the help of fellow Catholics that may be willing to help out a friend in need. I have a friend, Fr. John Gibbons, who is a Franciscan missionary priest in Russia who needs our generosity.

Fr. John is living east of Siberia and is the only priest within a hundred miles. In fact, He is one of only a few Catholic priests in Russia at all. His work is not glamorous. He does not work with orphans or any other group that would invoke our deepest sympathies. He is a humble parish priest doing what parish priests are doing all around the world every day: he says Mass, hears confession, and shares in the life of those he pastors. The only difference is that he is doing it in place where priests were forbidden for so long that the Catholic faith was almost destroyed. Now he is starting again to answer the call of the Lord to preach and to baptize to the ends of the earth.

He arrived in Russia three years ago but has been in his parish for one year. His rectory is very small and very poor - so poor, in fact, that I feel that it is a shame to see our priests - or any human being - living in such conditions. He has no indoor plumbing, he uses an outhouse, gets water a block away, and he chops wood for heat. This is especially a sacrifice in a place where the temperature is below zero six months of the year. He lives like this to be "in solidarity" with the people who live in the same impoverished conditions. Our donations are not likely to change these things. What we give will help to bring Christ to them.

Fr. John is there to bring the Gospel to a people who were denied the Goodnews for many years. He is there to build a church - following the call of St. Francis - he is the prime example of "the missionary" that John Paul II spoke about in his letter on the Missionary life, "The special vocation of missionaries "for life"...is the model of the Church's missionary commitment, which always stands in need of radical and total self-giving, of new and bold endeavors."

Hearing about Fr. John is a grace for us too. It gives us a concrete way to contribute to the missionary Church, "...individual believers extend the reach of their charity and show concern for those both far and near. They pray for the missions and missionary vocations. They help missionaries and follow their work with interest."(JPII, RM)

Fr. John is in the United States right now to renew his visa and to raise awareness of the mission Church in Russia. He is here "to beg", as he says, "like a good Franciscan." When I heard the story of my long-time friend and saw the photos of his life I was moved to help. I made a decision to do two things 1) to share his story and 2) to simple ask every Catholic that I know to offer $10 for this mission.

$10 is not much. We spend that much at Starbucks or McDonalds or without even thinking about it. However, $10 for Fr. John's Mission would be much better spent. If enough people respond we can offer Fr. John a gift that will make a difference to his 50 parishioners. Just think, if we raise $5000 that will be $100 per person. With that Fr. John can buy bibles, catechisms, books, food, medicine or anything that his mission needs. Furthermore, I know that he can count on a few prayers to go with the donation. He says that the prayers are far more important because through prayer all his needs are met.

What About American Folk Songs?

About a week or so ago, I misheard Hannah. I can't remember what she really said, but what I thought she said was "goober peas." Which almost worked because we were talking about the Civil War but not quite.

After the gales of laugher died down, Rose asked why goober peas would make me think of the Civil War. Because of the song, of course. What song? Huh?

Here we go again.

Many times either Tom or I has hummed a few bars or sung a line or two of a classic American folk song (She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain, Sweet Betsy of Pike, This Land is Your Land) only to draw a complete blank from both girls.

Both he and I remember all too well singing those songs in the bi-weekly music class in the fourth or fifth grades. If you lived in Kansas as I did back then you also learned some special Kansas folk songs which your class could perform for the monthly PTA meeting ("She's My Sunflower," *clap, clap, clap*).

Not these days. These days, Rose and Hannah explained, these days you learn folk songs from other countries. Rose giggled and said, "Mom, Mom, Mom, American folk songs aren't good enough! You've got to learn something from South Africa, even if you don't ever remember what those words mean!"

She broke into a lilting little song and Hannah dumbfounded me by joining in perfectly.

Now I don't particularly mind if they know South African folk songs. I, myself, learned Frere Jacque at a tender age as part of that age's multiculturalism effort.

However, is it too much to ask that all that multiculturalism include our own country? I know the politically correct answer but my own answer is a typically American, "Hell no!"

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

148 Left ...

2,996 is a tribute to the victims of 9/11.

On September 11, 2006,
2,996 volunteer bloggers
will join together for a tribute to the victims of 9/11.
Each person will pay tribute to a single victim.

We will honor them by remembering their lives,
and not by remembering their murderers.

There are only 148 victims left to be assigned to bloggers and the organizer is trying not to assign more than one victim per blogger unless absolutely necessary to reach the goal.

I am proud to say that I will be honoring the life of Captain Daniel O'Callaghan, age 42, a firefighter who died heroically and was found with his set of Knights of Columbus rosary beads in hand.

If you'd like to sign up or just read more about this project, go to here.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Did You Cry?

The most frequently asked question about getting Hannah settled in at A&M.

The answer is ... not really though I do have a tendency to get a bit teary eyed at the oddest times. Now, whether that makes me a good mother or a bad mother I am not sure. I don't feel like boo-hooing but there is a nostalgic, melancholy feel to everything as we all adjust to having that big gap where Hannah has always been until now.

We had a good and easy trip (both ways), finally figured out how to get Hannah into her dorm room (4th floor, NO ELEVATOR y'all! Thank heavens for sturdy, polite young co-ed men who will haul boxes!), and the only crying on-site was when I glanced over my shoulder as we were leaving and could see on Hannah's face that she was trying not to break down. Which I did quite well at (the NOT breaking down part) until I was driving away and then I did sniffle a bit.

Hannah's roommate is just about the nicest girl you could ask for (she was the one who was waiting with box-carrying guys ... a good roommate obviously!). Hannah got together with some of her high school friends and they were hanging out together last night when I called.

So far the worst sufferers are the animals. Pepper (our Great Dane/black Lab mix) kept rushing to the front window and barking wildly at any cars that slowed down. I think he felt Hannah might be getting dropped off by a friend.

The cat may never be the same having to depend on the rest of us lowly mortals for enough affection to get through the day! She was not in her usual spot this morning and then appeared looking all rumpled as if she'd woken late and bolted out of her spot without a morning toilette. She then swarmed onto my lap and purred loudly (not the usual routine I assure you).

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, to A&M We Go!

Yep, today's the big day when we load the station wagon and head to College Station.

in my absence, here are a few things I found interesting.

Crusin' for a Bruisin' ... poor Tom Cruise, how will he provide for his family now that Paramount has given him the boot for his bizarre behavior?

Crunchy Con ... I read enough reviews of this book to feel that it was way too defined for me. I figured reading all those definitions would just send my blood pressure soaring. Then Steven Riddle began praising it. That's a sign of how much I trust his judgement ... I began to reconsider my position. Not to worry though! Deeper into it he has run into the same sorts of thoughts that I had when reading the reviews ... here and here. Whew!

Autumn Reading Challenge ... oh Mama T, how you influence me! First she numbered the books she read. What an interesting idea. Me too! Then she also gave brief summaries of them. Another good idea ... though I am less thorough about that than she but ... me too! Now she tells about how her Summer Reading Challenge went. Another good idea to assign oneself some of those books that have been taking up shelf space for a long time but not getting read for whatever reason. She's getting ready for her Autumn Challenge and that's another idea I am turning over in my mind. I like it. I like it a lot. For one thing it means making a list. And I am all about lists.

New Way to Harvest Embryonic Stem Cells ... American Papist has the story as well as lotsa links. I am reserving judgment. It looks like a good deal ... but lets see what everyone says and give it some time.

The Rules Aren't Changing, They're Being Applied ... canon lawyer Ed Peters has an interesting post about this.

The Dictatorship of Artificial Contraception ... Nate reminds us where the fundamental base of the culture of death begins.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

The Catholic Home: Better Than Ever

THE CATHOLIC HOME
by Meredith Gould

For many of today's Catholics, the ethnic customs that celebrate the birth, life, death, and resurrection of the Christ have been lost, forgotten, or abandoned for the sake of assimilation. And while folk traditions are neither a substitute for faith nor compelling evidence for reverence, they do help to stimulate and sustain awareness. We have to start somewhere.

I believe that celebrating Catholic customs in the domestic church can serve to reenliven Catholic identity in ways that Mass attendance simply cannot, although I, for one, miss Mass when I miss Mass...

I did a brief review of this book previously at Spero News along with a few others which I find helpful in celebrating liturgical holidays through the year. Now I see that the paperback edition has come out and in looking through it I am reminded of just what a treasure it is to any family that wants to have daily devotion as part of their lives.

Even if you are well versed in reinforcement of Catholic liturgy through home traditions Gould's book serves as a good reminder of following the liturgical calendar through the year. I really appreciated having everything supported by a quote from the Catechism and the author's Jewish heritage adds nice depth to showing the customs as completion of Jewish tradition. Certainly I appreciate her breaking ordinary time into two sections so that the book's order of contents follows the year.

Gould also has a nice touch on regular daily devotions such as reminding us that simply dressing up and dashing out the door to be on time for weekly Mass just isn't enough. How about looking through the Sunday readings first so we have a bit of a frame of reference for what we will be hearing? She offers good, solid advice about such things as daily family prayer, regular Scripture reading, and much more. These things are the reason I give this book as a wedding gift to Catholic couples more than any other.

The publishers took the opportunity to revise the book while they were coming out with the paperback edition. I didn't even notice until flipping through and comparing the two just how often the liturgical colors had been gotten wrong in the first edition. The author mentions this in the forward and I feel for her humiliation.

They also took the opportunity to add an appendix with all the names of Mary ... an amazing list and I had no idea that such a thing would fill so many pages! It would provide ample material for meditation just considering those titles and how Mary, as the first Christian, is worthy of our imitation.

The layout also has been tidied up some. Not that the previous layout was bad at all, but comparing pages you can see how they fixed awkward page breaks. That is probably something only someone who has worked in graphic arts for so long would notice in the first place but it will make the book flow more smoothly in reading.

The liturgical colors information was the most necessary revision but the other changes just make the book easier to use and a more valuable resource than ever. Highly recommended.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Tonypandy

Continuing yesterday's exploration of Tonypandy.

Presently Grant put his hand out, wordlessly, and Carradine gave him a cigarette and lighted it for him.

They smoked in silence.

It was Grant who interrupted the sparrows' performance.

"Tonypandy," he said.

"How's that?"

But Grant was still far away.

"After all, I've seen the thing at work in my own day, haven't I?" He said, not to Carradine but to the ceiling, "It's Tonypandy."

"And what in the heck is Tonypandy?" Brent asked. "It sounds like patent medicine. Does your child get out of sorts? Does the little face get flushed, the temper short, and the limbs easily tired? Give the little one Tonypandy, and see the radiant results." And then, as Grant made no answer: "All right, then; keep your Tonypandy. I wouldn't have it as a gift."

"Tonypandy," Grant said, still in that sleep-walking voice, "is a place in the South of Wales."

"I knew it was some kind of physic."

"If you go to South Wales you will hear that, in 1910, the Government used troops to shoot down Welsh miners who were striking for their rights. You'll probably hear that Winston Churchill, who was Home Secretary at the time, was responsible. South Wales, you will be told, will never forget Tonypandy!"

Carradine had dropped his flippant air.

"And it wasn't a bit like that?

"The actual facts are these. The rougher section of the Rhondda valley crowd had got quite out of hand. Shops were being looted and property destroyed. The Chief Constable of Glamorgen sent a request to the Home Office for troops to protect the lieges. If a Chief constable thinks a situation serious enough to ask for the help of the military a Home Secretary has very little choice in the matter. But Churchill was so horrified at the possibility of the troops coming face to face with a crowd of rioters and having to fire on them, that he stopped the movement of the troops and sent instead a body of plain, solid Metropolitan Police, armed with nothing but their rolled-up mackintoshes. The troops were kept in reserve, and all contact with the rioters was made by unarmed London police. The only bloodshed in the whole affair was a bloody nose or two. The Home Secretary was severely criticised in the house of Commons incidentally for his 'unprecedented intervention.' That was Tonypandy. That is the shooting down by troops that Wales will never forget."

"Yes," Carradine said, considering. "Yes. It's almost a parallel to the Boston affair. Someone blowing up a simple affair to huge proportions for a political end."

"The point is not that it is a parallel. The point is that every single man who was there knows that the story is nonsense, and yet it has never been contradicted. It will never be overtaken now. It is a completely untrue story grown to legend while the men who knew it to be untrue looked on and said nothing."

"Yes. That's very interesting; very. History as it is made."

"Yes. History."

"Give me research. After all, the truth of anything at all doesn't lie in someone's account of it. It lies in all the small facts of the time. An advertisement in a paper. The sale of a house. The price of a ring."

The Daughter of Time

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Happy Birthday Hannah!

Source

If I had my way (as well as unlimited time) Hannah's cake would look like this. However, that's not gonna happen. She selected this classic combination of Southern Ginger Cake with Buttercream Frosting. Mmmm ... We'll go out for seafood first. We'll be taking her to college on Thursday but I'm glad she opted to stay home for a few extra days so we could celebrate her birthday first.

(This post will be left at the top of the blog all day so scroll down for any new posts.)

The Thunderer

If you read this out loud you will get the most benefit from it.

God’s angry man, His crotchety scholar
Was Saint Jerome,
The great name-caller
Who cared not a dime
For the laws of Libel
And in his spare time
Translated the Bible.
Quick to disparage
All joys but learning
Jerome thought marriage
Better than burning;
But didn’t like woman’s
Painted cheeks;
Didn’t like Romans,
Didn’t like Greeks,
Hated Pagans
For their Pagan ways,
Yet doted on Cicero all of his days.

A born reformer, cross and gifted,
He scolded mankind
Sterner than Swift did;
Worked to save
The world from the heathen;
Fled to a cave
For peace to breathe in,
Promptly wherewith
For miles around
He filled the air with
Fury and sound.
In a mighty prose
For Almighty ends,
He thrust at his foes,
Quarreled with his friends,
And served his Master,
Though with complaint.
He wasn’t a plaster sort of a saint.

But he swelled men’s minds
With a Christian leaven.
It takes all kinds
To make a heaven.

From "Times Three" by Phyllis McGinley

CONGRATULATIONS TO LAURA H.

It is with a joyful and humble heart that I announce to you this day, on the memorial of the Queenship of Mary, the decision to pursue a vocation to the religious life as a sister - currently with the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal. Today marks four months of active discernment following an almost indescribable experience in which I 'just knew' God was calling me to Himself in this most intimate way.

She has more about her discernment to this point. Go congratulate her and keep her in your prayers. Woohoo!

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity