Fast, Furious, and Stupid: World War Z (the movie)

If I were to give this movie a subtitle it would be "Fast, Furious, and Stupid."

It is already generally accepted that the only things the excellent and intelligently written book and this movie have in common are the title. I'm actually ok with that. I just hope that author Max Brooks is making a ton of cash off of this movie.

If watched solely as a big summer Hollywood thriller, WWZ works overall. It is a roller coaster of jumps and adrenaline thrill rides, strung together by the thinnest of logic. Don't turn your brain on and you'll have a wonderful ride.

And, I must admit, viewing it at home, where we could laugh at the dumb stuff, probably compensated for not seeing the visually impressive scenes on the big screen where they must have been truly spectacular.

The biggest problem with the film was that we only had one character to care about: Garry (Brad Pitt). He seemed in peril numerous times, but let's face it, we never too worried because he is the star of the movie. If anyone is going to make it to the end, it is the star and executive producer.

Some people live, many people die, but we weren't emotionally invested in any of them. Garry's wife and children, the fellow soldiers, the other experts ... none of them had enough character development or even camera time to allow us to see inside and care. I think of other thrill-ride movies with solo heroes: Die Hard, The Hunt for Red October (though I suppose we could argue for a dual hero motif in that one), Clear and Present Danger, and Aliens all come immediately to mind. Each of these had likable supporting characters whose deaths would have caused me emotional turmoil, not to mention how the movies' heroes would have felt. We got none of that from World War Z and that's the biggest crime a movie can commit ... robbing you of suspense and just taking you along for the ride.

What I liked:

• The way Gerry was so interested, fascinated, and curious that he would continue observing behavior even when he was on the run. That was well shown and, of course, came in handy when he had a chance to slow down and put clues together.
• The big action sequences. Those zombies spilling over the huge wall around Jerusalem made an arresting visual for the trailers and they were even more effective as one could see them spilling through the city which went in 10 seconds from zombie impact from being a safe zone to being a plague ridden place of terror.
• Some of the little effects ... especially the zombies teeth snapping reflexively if they were kept from biting someone. When Gerry is on one side of a glass door and a zombie is on the other, there was something about that those teeth snapping that was kind of ... perfect.
• Israeli soldiers ... tougher than nails and this movie takes full advantage of that fact.

What I didn't like ... and these are a token few items of the stupid "logic" being used throughout this thing (SPOILERS ... though I don't think these ruin anything and I tried to keep them vague):

• The Captain Kirk investigation technique. So you have the world's one hope in a young brainiac who can analyze the date to find a cure for this zombie plague. What do you do? Send him to South Korea where you've lost contact with your military base and have no idea what's going on. And only send Brad Pitt and about five other guys to protect him. (What can I say. The U.N. is running this operation.)
• The insistence on finding Patient Zero. Look, these aren't vampires. You don't have to find the Master Vampire and kill him so that all the others die (granted that is a Simpsons' Halloween episode, but still ... that's the sort of logic they're using). Do what anyone does fighting a disease. Catch a few zombies (just stick your arm out the door, that'll work) and start studying them. Sheez. (What can I say. The U.N. is running this operation.)
• The logic behind the "cure." Both the "scientific precedent" cited and the cure were just about the most ridiculous things we ever heard. I know, I know, the U.N. is running this operation but even I can't blame them for this shoddy storytelling.

I also have two questions:

• Can these zombies run faster than they did in real life? That's a heckuva virus. They're dead and decomposing but they can do a 10 second mile apparently.
• Brad Pitt ... what will it take to make him cut his hair? Did his wife cut it with dull scissors? Please, man, give us a break already.

All that makes it sound as if I hated this movie and I did not. I enjoyed it a lot and gave it three out of five stars at Letterboxd. As I say, it works really well at home with popcorn to throw at the screen (which we had, thanks to my forethought), and like-minded pals to make smart aleck cracks ... or appreciative comments (we liked the use of the soda machine).

Worth a Thousand Words: How to Cook a Hare

How to Cook a Hare
taken by EatingAsia's David Hagerman

Yes, this should probably be called How to Eat a Hare, but I went with the post title. If you haven't ever perused EatingAsia, you'll find a fascinating look at culture, food, and travel in places like Turkey, Georgia (the country), Taipei and many other places I'll probably never get to visit. Plus gorgeous photography, of course.

Well Said: Loving the Blessed Virgin

From my quote journal.

Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.

Maximilian Kolbe

You know, I never thought of it like that. Though my own inclination tends to be to forget all about the Blessed Virgin altogether. Not in the importance of the big picture, of course, but just in my every day life. Which is probably a bit less than Jesus would like ... I mean, she is the first of all disciples and definitely worthy of me keeping her example and help in mind.

My Inadvertent Participation in Banned Books Week

Not that I wouldn't gladly plan to defiantly read a banned book. "Take that, small-minded censors! Ha!" (And I'd flourish the book and toss my head and so forth.)

It's just that I didn't realize it was Banned Books Week until Dappled Things mentioned it. (They also hadn't realized it.)

Imagine my gratification at discovering I already was reading a Banned Book.

And then my consternation at discovering I was reading a Banned Book.

Someone banned or challenged The Lord of the Rings?

Oh, J.R.R. Tolkien, what have you wrought in The Lord of the Rings, to be thus summarily dismissed (or at least to have such a dismissal attempted)? Is it the elves? Is it the magic? Is it the hobbits? Is it the triumph of good over evil ... the use of seemingly unimportant people to do tremendous works of salvation? I'm stumped.

Though on a completely different tack than banned books, it's the first time I've read the whole thing this deliberately and slowly. Just taking in all the scenery on the way instead of dashing to the finish line of the great adventure. I'm enjoying the heck out of it.

A Lift for My Day: Forgotten Classics in the "What's Hot" iTunes podcasts

Granted, it is featured in the Literature category, a sub-set of the Arts category in podcasts.

Still, it was a decidedly wonderful surprise when I was skimming podcasts to see if some new interesting podcast has begun ... and I saw Forgotten Classics featured. Right in the same special spot as Scott Sigler, Grammar Girl, CraftLit, and The Classic Tales Podcast!

It's funny how little it takes sometimes to put a bright new gloss on the day. Right? A nice little treat along with the fun I've been having looking for a 1930's style science fiction / adventure type story which one of my regular listeners requested, "Something like The Green Girl."

It does keep it all fun, and that is the point after all ... along with doing all I can to tempt people to try some of these forgotten classics which I love.

Well Said: Jesus complicates our life ...

From the Sunday, year B, reflection. Yeah, I know it's year C. Who sez it isn't a good idea to mark up your books? Sometimes you pull out the next devotional volume, flip to the front, and have your eye caught by that bracket in the margin, which yields this gem ... one I need to write on an index card and take everywhere with me.

Jesus Christ complicates our life in a way no other person can. He asks us to follow him through a complete identification of our will with his own.

Francis Fernandez, In Conversation With God, vol. 5

It's All Downhill From Here: Church of Trek

From Futurama, via Wikipedia

A little humor to get us through the rest of the week.

This is particularly appropriate considering my conversation about Galaxy Quest with Scott at A Good Story is Hard to Find, where Star Trek as religion was a topic. Indeed, Scott's the one who popped this into a Twitter feed.

Worth a Thousand Words: Alcock Nelson Jug

By VAwebteam at en.wikipedia [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0 , from Wikimedia Commons

Look at the intricacy of this jug. Simply amazing and just in case you, like me, didn't realize just how much is conveyed visually, here is a brief description.

Subjects Depicted - The jug bears copies of the reliefs sculpted on the base of Nelson's Column, in Trafalgar Square, which was only about 10 years old in 1852. Admiral Horatio, Viscount Nelson (1758-1805) defeated the French at the Battle of Trafalgar where he died in 1805. The Neptune figure on the handle and other marine motifs emphasise Nelson's maritime prowess.

People - Alfred Henry Forrester (1804-1872) (under the pseudonym of Alfred Crowquill) with his brother Charles Robert (under the pseudonym of Hal Willis) contributed pen-and-ink sketches to periodicals, and exhibited works at the Royal Academy. He wrote and illustrated over 20 humorous works including the Tour of Dr Syntax (1838) and also illustrated his brother's works. He designed 19 objects for Alcock's stand at the Great Exhibition, including a Plate of All Nations, fairy and nautilus cups, a snail ring holder, a butterfly pen holder, and a lily cup and saucer.

Worth a Thousand Words: Leere Flasche 2

Leere Flasche 2
by the brilliant Edward B. Gordon

Well Said: Talk sense to a fool ...

Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.

Euripides, from Bacchae

This was today's Goodreads quote and it hit a chord with me immediately, making me think also of Jesus' comment about not casting pearls before swine.

This whole area can seem as clear as mud sometimes. It is something that I have been reflecting upon lately, along with Christ's counsel, "... be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." (Matthew 10:16)

At any rate, Euripides hits the nail on the head from a practical angle and this is going into my quote journal.

UPDATED: A Big Heart Open to God - Pope Francis's Exclusive Interview

UPDATE
I finished reading the Pope's interview over the weekend and was very happy I did so. Above all the other reasons which most news medias reported (which way will he lead the Church, what does he think about this or that issue, etc.) ... was that I got a look into this priest myself based on his answers.

Since Pope Francis's election I have not felt that I "connected" very well with our new pontiff. I know there have been some hastily written books about him, but I wanted to hear from him in his own words. This interview solves that desire.

I really like the person I "met" because he is thoughtful, smart, willing to take time for discernment, willing to listen to others (but not afraid to make up his own mind), and in many ways makes me think of our pastor. I think out pastor would be very surprised to hear that, but the things which Pope Francis urges us to do (slow down, discern, be slow to anger, think of the whole person, and so forth) are the very things I have heard spoken of so many times, both in homilies or private conversation.

Tom is reading it now and is struck the same way so far. It has led to some fascinating conversations around the house.

I very highly recommend reading this interview (link to pdf below).

=================

Whispers in the Loggia tells us that early in his pontificate Pope Francis sought out the editor of Civiltà Cattolica – the authoritative Italian Jesuit journal vetted by the Holy See before it goes to press and gave an extensive interview.

In English, the result of the conversation – touching on issues ranging from sin, sexuality, the Curia and the pre-Conciliar liturgy to family, politics, books and film – is available via the UK's Thinking Faith and the US' America magazine. On its release today, Spadaro called the encounter "one of the most beautiful spiritual experiences of my life."

Francis approved the original Italian text of the interview before its translation in the relevant languages.

As the story begins to blow up the news-cycle, you will want to read the full text. Repeat: you will want to read the full text, so have at it.

So the interview is out and we all want to read it. Don't we? Of course we do!

Weekend Joke: Headlines

In this case our weekend humor comes from funny Wall Street Journal headlines that I've collected. I don't know who writes these but every so often they go on a jag, especially in the business section, and I comb the paper looking for them.

• Peugeot Still Has Trouble Turning
• China SUV Maker Has Great Wall to Climb
• Hostess Crumbs Swept Up
• Self-Driving Cars Accelerate

Quick Asian-Style Dumpling Soup

Get it at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen. You want a bowl of this. I'm just sayin' ...

Talk Like a Pirate Day

And, here to help us celebrate it, is one of my favorite cartoons, Savage Chickens!

You'll find a slew of pirate cartoons at Savage Chickens, all very funny.

Review: Catholicism - The New Evangelization from Father Robert Barron

I've been a fan of Father Barron's ever since reading his book Catholicism (my review here) and then getting to watch the DVDseries it was written to accompany. He's personable, reasonable, relatable, and communicates joyful faith. Anyone who has seen him on YouTube already knows that but since that's not where I hang out, I was pleased to encounter such a "normal" Catholic. As a more important litmus test, my husband is a big fan and that's not an easy accomplishment where religious broadcasting is concerned.

I was really surprised when I picked up the mail yesterday and found Father Barron's Catholicism: The New Evangelization dvds and study guide (written by Brandon Vogt, who I have met and respect a great deal). I never get review items like this so it was a wonderful treat.

We didn't wait, but watched the main dvd last night.

What's it about? The dvd package puts it best of all, I find.

CATHOLICISM taught us what the Church believes and why.

CATHOLICISM: The New Evangelization shows us how to put our faith into action.

The main message is documentary style and takes us through evangelization in the recent past after Vatican II and today with emphasis on ministries by lay people. Father Barron discusses not only major objections to the Church but movements and individuals who answer those objections through both traditional and new methods (such as new media).

I would say the one thing gap I noticed was that Father Barron tended to focus on ministry begun to "tell people about Christ or the Church" especially within the context of using new media. This is very understandable because it is where he himself is focused. It is too bad that they didn't find a few lay people who found themselves caught up in ministries simply because their joy couldn't be contained and the Catholicism was part of the whole package. It is a quibble, I realize, but there you go. It is how I fall into ministries myself and so I felt that area was left unaddressed.

I came away from this viewing feeling inspired. Joyful. Part of something bigger than I am.

And that was exactly what I needed that very evening. (No coincidences, as I said.) It allowed me to completely take my mind off of my own frustrations and recall that any ministry I am involved in is because I encountered Christ there ... because I felt such joy and surprise and ... yes ... love that I couldn't wait for others to experience it too.

The New Evangelization imbued me with that feeling once again.

It comes with a study book suitable for individuals or parish use. I haven't read the entire thing, but I continually caught myself reading on where I meant to skim. Brandon Vogt's style is engaging, compelling, and nicely complements Father Barron's dvd. The other dvds have additional interviews and materials for a study or formation program.

I'm going to give this to our priest and ask where he may need help in our parish with any new evangelization seeds that it plants. (As Tom points out, our parish is pretty active, but you never can tell where the need is not being met.)

Highly recommended.

Worth a Thousand Words: Nightjar

Nightjar
taken by the incomparable Remo Savisaar

Be sure to click through on the link to see the photo at full size. There is an artistry in the nightjar's feathers that is breathtaking.

Notes on Mark: When the King Comes Into His Own

MARK 8:38-9:1
I really always think of Jesus as being confident, especially when he is speaking to his disciples. However, I never really associated it with what Barclay speaks of here ... the seemingly insurmountable odds against success.

One thing leaps out of this passage -- the confidence of Jesus. He has just been speaking of his death; he has no doubt that the Cross stands ahead of him; but nonetheless he is absolutely sure that in the end there will be triumph...

The last part of the passage has caused much serious thought. Jesus says that many who are standing there will not die until they see the Kingdom coming with power. What worries some people is that they take this as a reference to the Second Coming; but if it is, Jesus was mistaken, because he did not return in power and glory in the lifetime of those who were there.

But this is not a reference to the Second Coming at all. Consider the situation. At the moment Jesus had only once been outside Palestine, and on that occasion he was just over the border in Tyre and Sidon. Only a very few men in a very small country had ever heard of him. Palestine was only about 120 miles from north to south and about 40 miles from east to west; her total population was 4,000,000 or thereby. To speak in terms of world conquest when he had scarcely ever been outside such a small country was strange. To make matters worse, even in that small country, he had so provoked the enmity of the orthodox leaders and of those in whose hands lay power, that it was quite certain that he could hope for nothing other than death as a heretic and an outlaw. In face of a situation like that there must have been many who felt despairingly that Christianity had no possible future, that in a short time it would be wiped out completely and eliminated from the world. Humanly speaking, these pessimists were right.

Now consider what did happen. Scarcely more than thirty years later, Christianity had swept through Asia Minor; Antioch had become a great Christian church. It had penetrated to Egypt; the Christians were strong in Alexandria. It had crossed the sea and come to Rome and swept through Greece. Christianity had spread like an unstoppable tide throughout the world. It was astonishingly true that in the lifetime of many there, against all expectations, Christianity had come with power. So far from being mistaken, Jesus was absolutely right.

The amazing thing is that Jesus never knew despair. In face of the dullness of the minds of men, in the face of the opposition, in face of crucifixion and of death, he never doubted his final triumph -- because he never doubted God. He was always certain that what is impossible with man is completely possible with him.

The Gospel of Mark
(The Daily Bible Series, rev. ed.)

What I'm Reading — Genghis Khan: Emperor of All Men by Harold Lamb

This book has been on my To Read stack for some time. Gripped anew by determination to work my way through the books in my house before seeking out others, I picked it up this weekend and have really been enjoying it. (Hey, it's not how many times we fail, but how many times we begin anew that instills virtue, right? I'm counting on that, by the way.)

Genghis Khan: Emperor of All Men by Harold Lamb




Harold Lamb was fascinated by the people and history of Asia which greatly influenced his fictional short stories, many featuring Cossacks or Mongols as heroes. His fascination just as greatly influenced his string of popular nonfiction histories, of which Genghis Khan was the first, written in 1927. Eventually his skill with nonfiction led to Cecil B. DeMille hiring him as technical advisor and screenwriter on several films.

Lamb's style of writing is easy to read, probably because he began his writing career with his exciting adventure stories. He paints a picture, in this novel at least, of Genghis Khan the man, rather than as simply a leader of Mongolian hordes. The introduction nicely sets him in the context of European history by showing the panic and terror expressed in historical documents of the time. Indeed, one of the chief features which impresses me thus far is that Lamb's sources go back to the very earliest Chinese documents mentioning this particular Khan. The resources list in the back is extremely impressive, as are Lamb's notes about them.

Lamb expressed dismay that modern historians of his time tended to forget that all historical mentions of Genghis Kahn were written by his enemies. Therefore any actual facts had to be teased out of opinions rendered by those who left a written record, which was not a thing the Mongols valued or bothered with. It is also refreshing that Lamb doesn't interject his own opinion or agenda into any of the attitudes or actions of those I have thus read. He simply tells the story of Genghis Khan as best as it can be reconstructed. Would that more of our modern historians would follow this method.

Thus far this is a fascinating book, made all the more so by the hardships and adventures of the great Khan's life and times. Also, of course, it is an easy way to absorb the history of a time and place that are very foreign to us. As I think of the terror of those in Genghis Khan's path, who found his actions and attitudes incomprehensible, it makes me think of the current problems our civilization faces with terrorist threats. History may not literally repeat itself but patterns of behavior do in such a way that we can see connections and this seems to be one of those times.

Which is Quicker? Outwaiting 199 book readers or 51 book listeners?

Reading Jeff Miller's review of The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith at Goodreads this morning made me interested in reading it. I remember hearing that J.K. Rowling had written a mystery under a pseudonym which I thought was a good way to see if she could write an adult book without the hoopla that now accompanies her name.

I didn't stop to even mentally register the pseudonym although the rest of Dallas evidently did. I was in a quandary as to which version of the book I should request when faced with monumental numbers waiting ahead of me. It takes longer to listen to a book than to read it, but then some people are slow readers. Did that make the 51 audio requests equal to the 199 print requests?

Then, oh happy day, I found I could request both versions. Kind of like sending your kid to stand in the  grocery line next to you in case it moves faster. (Yes, I've done it. We all have.)

I'm curious to see which line gets me there the fastest ...

A Continual Feast by Evelyn Birge Vitz

A Continual Feast: A Cookbook to Celebrate the Joys of Family & Faith Throughout the Christian Year by Evelyn Birge Vitz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

At Pentecost a few years ago the usefulness of food for teaching religious ideas really became apparent to me. I was trying to explain to my children what Pentecost was, and their eyes were getting that glassy look that mothers know so well. I was losing them fast. Then (providential inspiration?) I declared, "We are going to bake a cake to eat on the great feast of Pentecost. How shall we decorate it?" Now, as it happens, my children love to decorate cakes and cookies. Their eyes brightened and their ears pricked up. We made a pretty wild-looking bakery item, with flames and doves and rays of light, but we all had a wonderful time, and they certainly knew what Pentecost was by the time we were through.

Evelyn Vitz goes on to give a recipe for making and decorating the Pentecost Cake, but as we can see, this is much more than a cookbook. As the subtitle says, it is: "A cookbook to celebrate the joys of family and faith throughout the Christian year." This book is perfect for the family who wants their faith present in every part of their lives, including the kitchen and dining room.

The first half of the book focuses on "All the days of our lives" with meals for celebrations, daily dining, and hospitality. This is also where the section on fasting and meat-free meals is included. As Vitz points out, abstinence from meat is still required of American Catholics unless they replace it with some other form of penance or good work. And that puts it squarely in the regular part of our meal planning lives.

"The Christian Year" is the focus of the second half which is organized according to the liturgical calendar. Vitz gives good explanations of the evolution and meanings of different customs and rites. Aimed primarily at Catholic and Orthodox families there is still a lot of information for exploration by Protestant families interested in tradition. The recipes in this section include a big section for saints days and special feast days, organized by season.

Lovely drawings and food-faith quotes are scattered throughout the book in pertinent spots. Some of the recipes are simple, some complex, and they are drawn from countries around the world. All were obviously chosen a lot of care and I was impressed with the range. Most of all, though, Evelyn Vitz's warm personality and love of faith come through in every headnote for each recipe.

Here's a sample recipe that caught my eye since autumn is upon us, which means All Souls Day looms ever nearer (November 2). I want to try these.

Beans of the dead

Fave Dei Morti

Here is a recipe for Italian "soul" cookies called Fave dei Morti, "Beans of the Dead." The theme of beans suggests, among other things, the idea of burial in the ground and rebirth. Sometimes "soul" cookies are called Ossi de Morti--"Bones of the Dead"--and are made in the shape of bones. In fact, the central ingredient in all the forms of this cookis is ground or crushed nuts, which are understood to suggest bones. (This theme is also common in bakery items for this day in other countries, such as Mexico.) These perhaps morbid considerations notwithstanding, Fave (and Ossi) dei Morti are delicious.

2/3 cup blanched almonds
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces and softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Grated rind of 1 lemon

Place the almonds on a baking sheet and dry them out for 10 minutes or so in a slow oven: 200°. Reset the oven for 350‚.

Grind the almonds very fine. Place them in a large bowl. Add the sugar, and blend the mixture well with a fork. Add the flour and the cinnamon, then the butter, and finally the egg, the vanilla, and the grated lemon rind, mixing well with each addition. With a fork or floured hands, work the mixture to a smooth paste.

Break off large-bean-sized pieces of paste (about 1 inch long), and place them about 2 inches apart on a greased, floured baking sheet. [My comment ... I would use parchment paper here.] Squash each bean slightly to produce an oval shape like a lima or fava bean.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until they are a golden color.

Yield: about 100 one-inch beans.

Variation:
Form pieces of dough into the shape of bones, 1 or 2 inches long.

Please Note:
I received this review copy of A Continual Feast from the good folks at Catholic Family Gifts. They've got a lot of great items there, including this cookbook and several others.

It's All Downhill From Here

A little Wednesday humor to get us to the weekend, courtesy of xkcd.

Well Said: Opposition from the Good

From today's reading in In Conversation With God. I myself tend to forget this over and over, becoming quite indignant. That's why this is a good reminder for me. I don't have to like it, but I shouldn't be surprised.

It is difficult to understand calumny or persecution -- either open or veiled -- in an era in which one hears so much about tolerance, understanding, fellowship and peace. But the attacks are more difficult to understand when they come from good men, when Christian persecutes, no matter how, another Christian, or a brother his brother. Our Lord prepared his own for the inevitable times when those who would defame, calumniate, or undermine their apostolic work would not be pagans or enemies of Christ, but brothers in the Faith who would think that with these actions they would be doing a service to God. This opposition from the good, an expression that the founder of Opus Dei coined to describe a phenomenon that he experienced so painfully in his own life, is a trial that God sometimes permits. It is particularly painful for the Christian to whom it happens. [...]

In any case, the position of the Christian who wants above all to be faithful to Christ has to be one where he can pardon, make amends and act with rectitude of intention, all the time looking towards Christ.

Francis Fernandez, In Conversation With God, vol. 4

Notes on Mark: Gradual Journeys

MARK 8:22-26
Jesus usually healed people instantly. I never stopped to wonder why this might be a more gradual healing. It makes me feel a little better at my lack of understanding sometimes when I think that the disciples had the same need for gradual understanding that I do.

The man's more gradual return to sight reflects the gradual journey of Jesus' disciples from spiritual blindness to spiritual insight. Surely they had seen Jesus perform many signs and wonders. Peter later confessed that Jesus was the Christ (Mark 8:29). Yet, as Jesus began to reveal to them what was going to happen -- that he would suffer and die -- the disciples struggled to comprehend God's plan for redemption. "And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him" (8:32). They still lacked the spiritual acuity to grasp God's plan for the salvation of the world through Jesus.

Mark: A Devotional Commentary
(The Word Among Us)

The gradual healing also has been seen by Church fathers to contain even deeper meaning.

Allegorically (St. Bede, In Marcum), Jesus heals the blind man to announce the mystery of redemption. As God Incarnate, Jesus heals man through the sacrament of his human nature, here signified by his hands and spittle. This grace cures our spiritual blindness gradually, and, as with the blind man, progress is measured in proportion to our faith.

Allegorically (St. Jerome, Homily 79), the restoration of the blind man signifies our gradual increase in wisdom, from the darkness of ignorance to the light of truth. Christ's spittle is the perfect doctrine that proceeds from his mouth; it enhances our vision and brings us progressively to the knowledge of God.

The Gospel Of Mark
(The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible)

Well Said: Do not squander time...

From my quote journal.

Do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of.

Benjamin Franklin

I heard this on the Monday Morning Memo podcast, wrote it on an index card, and have been putting it in prominent spots around the house for several days. It's a lesson I need, especially in these times of increasing distractions.

I Was On Conversion Corner This Morning - on Seize the Day with Gus Lloyd

I have to say that Gus Lloyd was unlike other interviewers I've talked to because he slowed down to talk more about my parents' attitudes toward religion, whether I'd been exposed to religion or church in my youth, and went on past God's reaching out to me ... in spectacular fashion ... to explore my further conversion into Catholicism.

It was a real pleasure and lots of fun to talk with him. It looks as if they rerun Seize the Day for late night listening on the Catholic Channel so if you are listening then you may hear me!

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

This review originally appeared at my A Free Mind column at Patheos. Scott and I discuss the book at A Good Story is Hard to Find. I wanted to get it on the record here at Happy Catholic.

=======================

There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still.

It is appropriate that during Lent, when the depth of God's love is the lesson made plain to us, The Hiding Place came to my attention; it contains vivid examples of God's deep love set in a story of man's inhumanity to man.

I read The Hiding Place in high school, so it was with a sense of nostalgia for an excellent "holocaust survival autobiography" and the vague memory of a few key inspirational passages that I downloaded it as the free April audiobook from christianaudio.com. In fact, I believed I remembered it so well that I only began listening from curiosity, to see how the narration sounded.

I soon realized my memory was severely at fault as the honest and beautiful story unfolded. I was completely absorbed, and listened in every spare moment.

The Hiding Place begins in 1937, in Haarlem, Holland, with preparations for the one hundredth anniversary celebration of the ten Boom family's clock shop. The story is told by Corrie ten Boom who is the then-45-year-old youngest daughter of the family. She and her sister, Betsie, who is seven years older, are spinsters living with their elderly father. As such, they make an unlikely pair of heroines but God does not see with our eyes, as their tale tells.

The early pages of the book reveal a family truly living a Christian life, with a soup kettle always bubbling to feed the poor, numerous foster-children raised, and a challenging extended family borne with patiently. Corrie's father, Casper, keeps Christ at the center of their lives. His gentleness, rooted in strength and wisdom, serves as a Christ-like example. Several instances of her father's guidance become touchstones throughout Corrie's life, as in this childhood recollection:

And so seated next to my father in the train compartment, I suddenly asked, "Father, what is sex-sin?"

He turned to look at me, as he always did when answering a question, but to my surprise he said nothing. At last he stood up, lifted his traveling case off the floor and set it on the floor.

"Will you carry it off the train, Corrie?" he said.

I stood up and tugged at it. It was crammed with the watches and spare parts he had purchased that morning.

"It's too heavy," I said.

"Yes," he said, "and it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It's the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger, you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you."

Corrie's sister, Betsie, is often a source of much needed Christ-like perspectives. When Corrie is troubled by a premonition of being taken from Haarlem against her will, she consults Betsie, who tells her:

If God has shown us bad times ahead, it's enough for me that He knows about them. That's why He sometimes shows us things, you know -- to tell us that this too is in His hands.

That trust is soon tested as the Nazis conquer Holland. When a well-dressed woman with a suitcase in hand appears at the shop's front door saying that she is a Jew afraid of being arrested, she is welcomed by Casper, "In this household, God's people are always welcome."

Thus begins the ten Boom family's surprising involvement in the Dutch underground.

Corrie soon finds herself the leader of one of the largest resistance groups in the city, centered at their home. She shares engrossing details about how the family eluded detection, managing to feed and house Jewish refugees until they could be spirited to safety. However, such a large operation made it inevitable that there would be a slip-up, and eventually the family is arrested.

From that point, the story reads like Dante's descent into the circles of Hell. The two middle-aged sisters are moved from one prison to another, each worse than the one before. It is during this point, however, that God makes His presence unmistakably known. As Corrie says in the movie made from the book, "God does not have problems. Only plans."

This revelation lifts The Hiding Place above other holocaust stories. Although the sisters suffer immense indignities and hardships, their story is about God's triumph over evil, even in the midst of the very place where evil reigns. They do not perform what we might think of as heroic acts, yet as Corrie and Betsie persevere in their efforts to stay in the center of God's will, they make it possible for God to work through them.

In fact, it is in their very powerlessness that they reveal God to others as their plight continues.

I was struck by the timelessness of the message and the values contained therein. Casper ten Boom models God the Father for his children, and those with good fathers recognize how powerful that can be. Those of us who were not so blessed can recognize in this hero a model of God the Father that we can relate to and call our own. Their mother, though not a key figure in the story, is instrumental in showing how it is possible to live a fully Christian life when home caring for a family, or when stricken by illness.

Betsie's point of view displays a Christ-like love for their captors even under the most terrible circumstances. Corrie is the example for the rest of us. She is uncertain, afraid, and needs the examples of Betsie and her father to keep her eyes on Christ. Even so, Corrie steps out in faith throughout the book whenever there is a need.

The Hiding Place also serves as a warning. I was quite surprised at how certain attitudes portrayed in the book resonated with our times; the Nazis showed utter disdain of the elderly, the very sick, and "feeble minded" because they were not productive members of society. If the ten Booms couldn't comprehend such attitudes, I realized with chagrin I understood them all-too-well as the utilitarian ideas of our "modern" society. As Flannery O'Connor said,

If you live today, you breathe in nihilism . . . it's the gas you breathe. If I hadn't had the Church to fight it with or to tell me the necessity of fighting it, I would be the stinkingest logical positivist you ever saw right now.

When I began telling people about this audiobook, I was surprised at how many people had never heard of The Hiding Place. Many others, like me, believe they remember it well, despite having read it many years ago. Even if you know and love the book well, I encourage you to take advantage of christianaudio's download. Narrator Bernadette Dunne brings Corrie to life in a matter-of-fact but sympathetic reading.

We could do with a revival of The Hiding Place on American bookshelves. Not only does this story remind us that God is with us always but it shows where we may find ourselves, if we do not heed His will. We will be in a very unsafe place where there is no hiding at all.

A Life-Changing Book: The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

Scott and I discuss it at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

Worth a Thousand Words: Diplomats

Diplomaten
painted by Edward B. Gordon

I love it when artists capture the everyday things which we take for granted. Edward B. Gordon is a master at this. Girls with umbrellas, street lights, cars in the rain ... everyday things are his daily subjects but he makes me see them in a new way. In this case, I'm thinking of these men's suits. Very typical and not really worth recording seemingly, but so much a part of today's work fashion.

Cardinal Dolan and The Colbert Report - a match made in Heaven?

Cardinal Dolan's trademark charm and humor come across full strength in this interview with Stephen Colbert. (The link goes to part 1 and automatically loads up part 2 ... about 8 minutes total).

Saturday, September 7, Proclaimed a Day of Fasting and Prayer for Peace in Syria

Bold emphasis is mine.

… All men and women of good will are bound by the task of pursuing peace. I make a forceful and urgent call to the entire Catholic Church, and also to every Christian of other confessions, as well as to followers of every religion and to those brothers and sisters who do not believe: peace is a good which overcomes every barrier, because it belongs all of humanity!

I repeat forcefully: it is neither a culture of confrontation nor a culture of conflict which builds harmony within and between peoples, but rather a culture of encounter and a culture of dialogue; this is the only way to peace.

May the plea for peace rise up and touch the heart of everyone so that they may lay down their weapons and be let themselves be led by the desire for peace.

To this end, brothers and sisters, I have decided to proclaim for the whole Church on 7 September next, the vigil of the birth of Mary, Queen of Peace, a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria, the Middle East, and throughout the world, and I also invite each person, including our fellow Christians, followers of other religions and all men of good will, to participate, in whatever way they can, in this initiative.

On 7 September, in Saint Peter’s Square, here, from 19:00 until 24:00, we will gather in prayer and in a spirit of penance, invoking God’s great gift of peace upon the beloved nation of Syria and upon each situation of conflict and violence around the world. Humanity needs to see these gestures of peace and to hear words of hope and peace! I ask all the local churches, in addition to fasting, that they gather to pray for this intention.

Let us ask Mary to help us to respond to violence, to conflict and to war, with the power of dialogue, reconciliation and love. She is our mother: may she help us to find peace; all of us are her children! Help us, Mary, to overcome this most difficult moment and to dedicate ourselves each day to building in every situation an authentic culture of encounter and peace. Mat, Queen of Peace, pray for us!

So declares Pope Francis and so we should follow in his lead.

(One of the few downsides to not reading blogs much is that one tends to miss the news when it breaks. You've probably seen this mentioned elsewhere already. However, just in case, like me, you are out of the loop ... you've now been alerted. I picked this up via Jeff Miller's "ember alarm" which makes me laugh every time I think of it.)

Blogging Around: The "I Hardly Ever Read Blogs These Days" Edition

I don't know how or why it happened. Perhaps it is a combination of going to my niece's wedding, vacation, Tom's mother's death and various other things that have jerked me out of my regular routine.

I only remember to read other people's blogs about once a week. It won't be a surprise to find that I now have more time. And I do have more time.

It also allows me to easily sift through what I am not interested in and find what I do want to read.

Here are a few bits which I hope you enjoy also.

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming
The title alone makes this sound great. Melanie reviews this at The Wine Dark Sea.

Boots and Saddles by Elizabeth Bacon Custer
Yes, that's the right name, Custer. Boots and Saddles is a new, free audiobook at LibriVox where the narrator begins the description thusly:

Elizabeth Custer has penned an engaging portrait of 1870’s life on a U.S. cavalry post in the Dakotas, just before her husband and his troops met their tragic deaths in the Battle of the Little Big Horn. “Our life,” she writes, “was often as separate from the rest of the world as if we had been living on an island in the ocean.”

I haven't tried it yet but if I like it, you'll be the first to know!

LibriVox: Where Are the New Releases?
Perhaps, like me, you have subscribed to LibriVox's New Releases rss feed. Perhaps, also like me, you have noticed that it has been three weeks since something new has showed up. LibriVox is overhauling their infrastructure and they have an alternate way to find out what's new (such as the above-mentioned Boots and Saddles) while that is going on.

My Son (movie trailer)
I'm not a Christian movie fan, as anyone who hangs out here already knows. They tend to forget about telling a story in favor of hammering in their point over and over. This one, however, looks different.

Here's the story we saw that made us watch the trailer. Burleson is a nearby town. Here's where you can watch the trailer.

Elmore Leonard, Modern Prose Master, Noted For His Terse Prose Style And For Writing About Things Perfectly And Succinctly With A Remarkable Economy Of Words, Unfortunately And Sadly Expired This Gloomy Tuesday At The Age Of 87 Years Old
The Onion does it again. I've been hanging onto this one for a bit, as you know if you read of Leonard's death. A perfect tribute delivered the funny way.

If you spend all your time looking for errors ...

Why I read Will Duquette:

...if you’re spending all of time looking for errors, you can begin to forget what the truth looks like.

Don’t just stand against the false, the bad, and the ugly. Stand for the true, the good, and beautiful, not simply in principle but also in practice. It’s better for you, and you’ll have less to repent of.

Read the whole thing at his blog: The View From the Foothills.

And yes, this is going into my quote journal.

Notes on Mark: Only One Loaf

Mark 8:14-21
I have never noticed the discrepancies in this bit of scripture. I guess, like the disciples, I wasn't paying enough attention, especially to this very interesting point about "one loaf" being in the boat.

Mark begins by noting the seemingly irrelevant detail that the disciples had forgtten to bring bread and had only one loaf with them. On one level, this simply means that they have failed to replenish their food supplies. But the two miraculous feedings and the ensuing discussions have prepared us to understand: What is the real "one loaf" (literally, "one bread") with them in the boat? It is Jesus! Mark clarifies in verse 16 that actually they have "no bread"--no earthly bread, that is. Bread will not be mentioned again in the Gospel until Jesus announces that the bread is his own body, to be given up for us on the cross (14:22).

Mary Healy, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: The Gospel of Mark

Well Said: A Home That Has a Cat

From my quote journal and this seems very appropriate for Labor Day.

There's no need for a piece of sculpture in a home that has a cat.

Wesley Bates

Just When I Thought an Audible Membership Couldn't Get Any Better ... I Discovered They Have The Great Courses For One Credit

I've been longingly reading and then discarding those brochures from The Great Courses for years. Even at the wildly discounted price of $99, I could never afford my heart's desire. How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition, Narrated by Professor Robert Greenberg.

I figure that has to be everyone's heart's desire from The Great Courses because it always has a place of honor in the center spread to tantalize you into dropping that century bill on them.

Now, I don't do badly at all with Exploring Music from Bill McGlaughlin. In fact I am a dedicated fan of Bill's (yes, that's how much I like him ... I call him Bill). But somehow it isn't like a planned class.

Then my dreams all came true. I was wondering how to squander my monthly credit at Audible and ... lo and behold, can it be true? ... The Great Courses are at Audible, each entire class for one credit.

Oh, how quickly one can download when in the grip of such a passion? (Pretty darned quickly it turns out.)

Brad Bird's Tweet - Hollywood's Lesson

The lesson Hollywood should draw from this summer: GOOD FILMS SUCCEED. The lesson Hollywood WILL draw from this summer: ORIGINAL FILMS FAIL.

Truer words were never spoken.

Sent to me by Scott Danielson who shares my desire to see good films succeed.

Well Said: A Divine Voice

From my quote journal.

To wantonly destroy a living species is to silence forever a divine voice.

Father Thomas Berry

What We've Been Watching: Parrots, Politicians, Psychiatry, Psychiatrists, Prisoner Number 1, and Pubs

We had an epic moviewatching weekend. I rented three films and we also went to the theater to see The World's End.

LINCOLN
★★★★½

I'd had a number of people tell me that this film was boring because all everyone did was talk, talk, talk ("and no action!").

Being history nerds who enjoy reading about the personalities of the Civil War, this was fine with us. We bravely settled down to watch President Abraham Lincoln's efforts to formally abolish slavery by getting the Thirteenth Amendment passed in the House of Representatives. It was well told, engaging, and respectful to the history.

I, for one, felt it went on too long after the bill passed and would have been happy to see the film end without taking us to the bitter end. We knew that already and didn't need to be dragged through it again. However, second guess editing aside, I can highly recommend it.

THE WILD PARROTS OF TELEGRAPH HILL
★★★

I got this because we have a wild Monks Parakeet/Quaker Parrot flock that occasionally hangs out in our Dallas, Texas, neighborhood. This is a fairly straight forward film which is truly more about the fellow who feeds these wild parrots than about the birds themselves. Thinking it over later, we realized that his life somewhat parallels that of the birds he cares for and that gave it a welcome bit of added depth. A sweet film really and I can recommend it.

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
★★★

This movie surprised me because, although I knew it was a romantic comedy with a mental illness twist, I didn't expect the first half to two-thirds of the movie to really be a mental illness movie with a possible romance somewhere ... ending up with a solid romantic comedy end of the film. A very odd combination but somehow they pulled it off and the acting and story kept us watching even though we were also made rather uncomfortable by the film's first half.

I can recommend it but I can also say that its not a movie I feel I'll ever need to rewatch.

THE WORLD'S END
★★★★

I am loathe to say more than people have seen in the trailers, which is that five old school chums reunite to see if they can finish that 12-pub crawl they failed at when they graduated from high school. They have the common feeling that the town is exactly the same, while simultaneously not feeling quite right somehow. In this case, there is an invasion of the bodysnatchers situation and they've got to survive and save the day.

The combination of reunion and alien invasion is pretty funny and has many nods to the previous two in Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's "Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy" (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz). I particularly enjoyed all the fence jumping.

I think this is the weakest of the three but that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy it immensely. As with the other two films, this is one that will benefit from rewatching since there were several comic things that only became clear when I was thinking over the movie.

DOCTOR WHO, Season Five

We just watched the first episode of this season (streaming free, thank you Amazon Prime) and while Matt Smith is no David Tennant (but, really, who is?), his Doctor seems to capture that sense of wonder and joie de vivre. I also like that there wasn't a lot of angst about picking up a new companion.

In grabbing this graphic from Wikipedia, I noticed that this season marked a new creative team which explains the new feel also. We shall see how it wears going into the future.

FRASIER, Season Three

Frasier (also streaming free on Amazon Prime) has been our night-time watching lately. I had forgotten how consistently amusing it was until both Hannah and Rose began watching it and commenting approvingly. Just plain entertaining, without that mean edge that some smart comedy can sometimes have.

Worth a Thousand Words: Three Cuties

Three Cuties,
Taken by Remo Savisaar

Well Said: "The trouble is," said Miss Marple ...

From my quote journal and a book that I highly recommend to any mystery lovers.

"The trouble is," said Miss Marple, "that people are greedy. Some people. That's so often, you know, how things start. You don't start with murder, with wanting to do murder, or even thinking of it. You just start by being greedy, by wanting more than you're going to have."

She laid her knitting down on her knee and stared ahead of her into space. "That's how I came across Inspector Craddock first, you know. A case in the country. Near Medenham Spa. That began the same way, just a weak amiable character who wanted a great deal of money. Money that that person wasn't entitled to, but there seemed an easy way to get it. Not murder then. Just something so easy and simple that it hardly seemed wrong. That's how things begin... But it ended with three murders."

Agatha Christie, 4:50 From Paddington

The Everyday Catholic's Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours by Daria Sockey

The Everyday Catholic's Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours by Daria Sockey

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Awaking the Dawn--Morning Prayer

Morning Prayer is one of the two principal Hours of the day on which the day's liturgy--and our own day--should hang. Hence, the Church's reference to Morning and Evening Prayer as the "hinges" of the liturgical day. That makes sense on the natural level. Our day's activity begins in the morning, and winds down in the evening. It is fitting to sanctify this beginning and ending of our daily work with liturgical prayer.

Although the entire Liturgy of the Hours is about offering to God a sacrifice of praise, no other Hour seems more praise-oriented than Morning Prayer. It's Latin name--Lauds--means just that: praises. And this makes sense, because to the mind of the Church, every morning recalls the most amazing and glorious thing that ever happened: the resurrection of Jesus. We are often told that every Sunday is a "little Easter." In the Liturgy of the Hours, nearly every morning of the year, for a few minutes at least, is a little Easter. The idea of every morning commemorating the resurrection goes back to the earliest centuries.

Like most Catholic converts I eventually began wondering about the meaning of some of the terms tossed around casually by long-time Catholics ... Divine Office, breviary, and Liturgy of the Hours. Eventually, using several sources over time, I figured it out, but I'd have had a much easier time if this book had been available back then. (Just to get any other newcomers up to speed, the Liturgy of the Hours together with the Mass is the official prayer of the Roman Catholic Church which must be offered at various times of day by clergy and religious. Regular Catholics can pray it if they like. It is mostly made up of of psalms, hymns, and readings.)

Daria Sockey has written a comprehensive, useful resource to the daily prayer of the Catholic Church which is built around the idea of "praying without ceasing." Sockey's book is succinct and clear. She answers all the questions I can imagine, from history to nuts-and-bolts to inspirational.

I myself was mildly interested in the Liturgy of the hours but the book was interesting enough that I read the entire thing, although I don't see myself praying the LOTH, at least anytime soon. However, it is packed with good, thoughtful commentary on prayer and that is something I need all the time.

There was certainly a time when I wondered why we were supposed to praise God so much. Was the Lord eternally fishing for compliments, like a once-beautiful woman now past her prime? So egotistical that he needed us telling him how wonderful he was every single day? ...

... Simply put, God does not demand our praise because he needs it, but because we need it. It is for our benefit, not his. If the whole world neglected to utter a single word of praise to God, he would not be hurt of diminished in any way. But we the non-praisers, would be sadly crippled.

Praise--call it admiration or appreciation--is the most natural thing response in the world to beauty, truth, and goodness. You are not in the least worried about offending a beautiful sunset by not praising it. On the contrary, you just can't help it. Your heart leaps, and words such as, "Wow! That's incredible!" come to your lips. And then--this is important--you aren't satisfied with having praised the sunset by yourself. You open the door to the house and call to your spouse and children, "Quick! Come see the sunset before it's gone. Isn't that amazing! Look at that red streak over there. The golden border on the top of the purple..."

God, our Creator and Redeemer, the answer to the heart's deepest longings, is obviously the most worthy object of our praise. When we recognize our place in the universe ... praise of God is the only fitting response. (And that praise just as with the sunset, is largely composed of inviting others to praise him, as well.) To not recognize this is to be spiritually disabled.)

Whether you have any interest in praying the Liturgy of the Hours or are simply a mildly interested questioner, this book is highly recommended.

The Extinction Machine by Jonathan Maberry

Extinction Machine by Jonathan Maberry

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“So, basically if we keep trying to save the country and maybe the world from a bunch of murderous assholes with outer space weapons, then we're the bad guys?"

"In a nutshell."

"Then, hey ... let's be bad guys.”

Joe's back.

Pulled off vacation, Joe Ledger and Echo Team are knocking on research lab doors, looking into cyber-attacks so clever they can't be tracked back to anyone. But no one's answering, even though all the lights are on. Until a couple of strangely inhuman Men In Black step onto the loading dock.

Mayhem ensues.

Of course, anyone who is this far into the Joe Ledger series knows that whenever Joe is called in mayhem always ensues, all to save the good ol' U. S. of A. Jonathan Maberry has tackled zombies, vampires, the seven plagues of Egypt and more, but this is the first time he's gone beyond so-called supernatural creatures. Crop circles, space ships, and aliens are the topic of investigation.

And I (mostly) loved it for all the reasons I have enjoyed the entire series. These are adrenaline rides with Joe getting into and out of increasingly impossible, perilous situations while the reader hangs on by their fingernails wondering just how he can possibly escape. Meanwhile, Maberry weaves intriguing mysteries which may not keep us guessing, since he enjoys giving us both sides' points of view, but they do keep us wondering if Joe can stop the bad guys.

What kept me from completely loving this book?

I am as ready for a good invading aliens story as the next person, but at one point the action came to a grinding halt as Maberry wove together two story lines in a gigantic "aliens among us" info-dump. Indeed, this went on for so long and contained enough duplicate information that I began to wonder if the author had fallen into "true believer" status and wanted to be sure we came away converted. Whether that was his motive or it was simply imperfect editing, I wearied of the information long before it ceased flowing.

On the other hand, Maberry is going to have to work hard to top Joe's accomplishment in the light house. I won't say more because I don't want spoil it for anyone but I was literally laughing with delight as I heard what was happening. Adrenaline rush achieved!

Speaking of listening, Ray Porter does his usual excellent narration and is the reason I wait for the audio books rather than pick up print copies. As I've said before Ray Porter IS Joe Ledger. So let me say it again — Porter's direct, blunt delivery can go from sarcastic to heart-felt to outraged in 60 seconds. Believably. That’s good because sometimes that’s the way Joe’s day goes.

Complaints aside, this book is great fun. Definitely recommended.

(Review copy from Audible, via SFFaudio, where this review first appeared.)

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

Image from Plant Answers

This is from last year but so much of it is still true ... and I love this picture ... that I'll let it stand. And hopefully Hannah will like it too!

I'd have featured a cake with a tree since they are Hannah's passion, however, they are darned hard to find. Instead I will content myself with offering  an image of one of her favorite trees. In fact, it is the Vitex tree which I'd never heard of until she talked about cutting down some big bushes in the back yard to plant a couple of these. (No Vitex tree in the yard yet, but someday ...)

After looking at the pictures, I had to agree. They look beautiful. Looking for the image above, I found some interesting information. I will now be calling these by the much lovelier name of Texas Lilac.

It is the Texas Lilac Vitex*, or Chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus).

This tree is also known as Mexican lavender, monk's pepper, lilac chaste tree, hemp tree, sage tree, or Indian spice. It is a native of China and India, although long ago it became naturalized throughout certain areas of the United Stated. Records indicate that Vitex has been cultivated in the U.S. since 1670.

Happy birthday, my darling Hannah! You may be 25 but you'll always be our little girl!

What Makes Me Plan to See a Movie Without Ever Reading a Review?

The powerful combination of director Edgar Wright and actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in The World's End. As well as the conclusion of the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy.

I recently was at a gathering where people were talking about planning to attend the midnight opening of Ender's Game. That all sounds very enjoyable in theory since I've never been one to care for the spectacle of midnight openings.

It did make me wonder what I'd consider exciting enough to make a special effort to see. Lo, the answer came to me in an email yesterday when Scott said The World's End was opening this weekend. The only question was how fast we could look up local theaters to plan the best time to see it.

Well Said: Considering a Book

From my quote journal.

Books are not made to be believed but to be subjected to inquiry. When we consider a book, we mustn't ask ourselves what it says but what it means.

Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose

Worth a Thousand Words: J.B. Ford Mausoleum

J.B. Ford Mausoleum, Allegheny
taken by Father Pitt

Gorgeous. We were fortunate enough to have Father Pitt (a.k.a. Dr. Boli, a.k.a. Chris Bailey) take us on a whirlwind architectural tour of Pittsburgh.

It would not be at all good for his ego to let him know that of all the people we met when on vacation a few weeks ago, he is the one who excited my mother's admiration. "Dr. Boli?" she said, her voice rising in astonished delight. "How wonderful! Tell me what he was like!" So we won't mention it beyond this post.

I will admit that the Doctor Who episode, Blink, did flash through my mind when I first saw this photo but then I saw these ladies were neither angels nor weeping. Whew!

The Tribute of the Sobbing Daughters-in-law

After the funeral, we were standing outside and three of the five Davis sons' wives were within view (of which I was one). Rose looked at all of us and said, "You know someone was a wonderful woman when her daughters-in-law are crying this hard for her."

We were sobbing and Rose was right. She was simply a wonderful woman. 

Many thanks to those who offered prayers for my mother-in-law, Mary Davis', soul and for the family.

Well Said: The Whole World

From my quote journal.

You mean that the whole world--the whole world with the sea, the sky, with the rain, the clouds--the whole world is a metaphor for something else?

Mario in Il Postino

Mind blowing. And true.

Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life by Elizabeth Scalia

Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life by Elizabeth Scalia

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The "you shall nots" are less a list of restrictions and limitations than an invitation to keep turning back to God, who will "satisfy the desire of every living thing." (Ps 145:16). The "shall nots" say, "Don't steal that, look at me. Don't objectify her with lust; look at me. Don't nurse your anger unto death! Look at me. Do not look out over there, not even to your past, be it good or bad; and do not look to your earthly desires. look at me, and let me love you, and you will have no need of the rest.

[...]

By instructing us to look at God with love and do the same with everyone else, Jesus is telling us, "Take your eyes off yourself." God does not say, "Love me first," because God has rejection issues, and Jesus does not add, "And then love your neighbors," because he simply wants us to play well with others. These commandments are, in fact, deeply personal ones. They are meant to lead us away from those empty depths of our being where the idols are formed and polished and brought to the fore of our regard.

Of course, Elizabeth Scalia is here discussing the Ten Commandments, especially in the context of the idols we make for ourselves in everyday life. We tend to think of idols as being as identifiable as a golden calf but the simple truth is that our idols often are set up without us noticing that we've turned away from God and are worshiping something else. Scalia examines the ways we idolize ideas, prosperity, technology, sex, and more. These sound remote and intellectual, but there is nothing remote about them, as we can see from this excerpt.

The Internet is a tool of staggering power, and it's a great gift for the gleaning of information and ease of communication; but the Internet might well be the greatest tempter to ego gratification since the hissing serpent of Eden. As such, the Internet is a most cunning inducement to idolatry. Like any good trap, it seems so very passive. We discover it with delight; we engage, we become adept (in some cases addicted), and are perpetually distracted. The evil one loves distraction--aims for distraction--because it is the means by which we lose track of God and dwell among the idols.

[...]

On the Internet, we are in many ways like gods. Using the Internet makes us identifiers of what is good! We are able to banish what is evil from our sight by banishing it from our site with the click of a button. ... We feel great while we are there, particularly when our tweet is noticed and passed around with approval, or our drop is liked and shared. ... When we are online, some of us feel more alive than at any other time of the day. That is an insidious illusion, beloved of Satan who wants us to be delighted, engaged, addicted, and distracted. How can we be alive to God and to the workings of the Holy Spirit, if we are spending hour after hour alive to only ourselves, reveling as our ideas, opinions, and words are reflected back at us, forever and ever, Amen?

Note that she's not saying any and all use of the Internet is bad (so you're safe to keep reading here!) but that it is whether our use is intentional or not, whether it is mindful or not, whether we are in danger of putting it before God and the people in our lives. I myself had already identified the way I get lost for hours on the internet. However, that is a particular problem I have. If it were not the internet, it would be a book, a computer game, and so on. For me, the struggle is to notice what new idol I am allowing to suck my time away so I can be mindful.

Your idols will vary, of course. If Scalia doesn't touch on one of them then you are not being really honest. Don't worry that she is shaking a nay-saying finger at us. She uses her own life and experience as the examples to bring her topic alive. Written in an accessible, conversational style, this book is for anyone who ever enjoyed Scalia's blog, The Anchoress, but without the politics. It is the best of how she writes, focused on a topic we need to consider for our own lives. Get it. Read it. Highly recommended.

Note: this was a free review book by a pal ... but if I didn't like it, you'd never have heard of it from me.

Prayer Request - Updated - RIP Mary Davis

UPDATE
Tom's mother, Mary, died yesterday evening just a few days away from her 89th birthday. She had as good a death as one could wish for, surrounded by everyone who could get there. The priest had been the day before with the rites for the sick and the Apostolic Blessing, so she was as prepared as she could be for anything. We had been keeping vigil all day so she was surrounded by loved ones.

We were happy for her merciful release into the arms of Jesus, crying our eyes out, and Hannah was holding her hand. Unbeknownst to each other, I was praying Hail Mary's repeatedly ("pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death" had never had more meaning) and Hannah was praying the Fatima prayer. So she slipped out on a silent sea of prayer.

Eternal rest grant unto Mary, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

The funeral will be in Houston where she grew up and where many of her relatives still live.

I'll be in and out of touch on the blog for the next week, understandably.

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Tom's mother has pneumonia. She's in her late 80s and has been living in hospice care for at least a year so they will keep her comfortable as possible but not do any strenuous measures. Please keep her and the family in your prayers.

In a stroke of divine irony, or perhaps it is merely proper perspective, this morning we are off to the baptism of a tiny baby girl who was born 3 months early. Luckily she had no health issues other than premature arrival and is thriving. Naturally she was baptized in the hospital, but this is the celebration of a new sister for us all. Thinking of this tiny girl with an enchanting, one-sided smile reminds me to pray for all those young families with premature arrivals.

Worth a Thousand Words: Muskrat

Muskrat
taken by Remo Savisaar

I often look at nature pictures and recall that this is what life really is. Not sitting at my desk, typing, talking on the phone, and so forth. Those may be necessary to my job, but they are not what we were created for. And so it is a good thing to keep that in mind as a way of keeping one's sense of proportion about life.

This Just In: The Church by Mike Aquinlina and Cardinal Wuerl

The Church: Unlocking the Secrets to the Places Catholics Call Home by Mike Aquilina




Mike Aquilina and Cardinal Wuerl's book The Mass left me wondering why they hadn't explained things like votive candles or the statues of saints in a church.

Now I see why. They were planning this companion book to cover the physical Catholic church building (a little bird has whispered that a third is underway about the liturgical year). As the introduction begins, this book explains how to "read" a church. Even better, the "reading" leads to knowing how to "pray" a church because what we see then leads our mind and hearts higher, helping to pull back the veil between us and God.

I can't wait to read it as that is one of the puzzles I had to tease out for myself after I converted, using several different books to do so. If this one is as good as The Mass, and I see no reason why it wouldn't be, then it will be an invaluable resource for anyone with similar questions.

More as I go ...

More Scenes From the Rural Life by Verlyn Klinkenborg

More Scenes from the Rural Life by Verlyn Klinkenborg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a review book from Amazon Vine.

I hadn't heard of this author but was casting around for something different to read. The idea of reading someone's collected essays about life on a farm in upstate New York sounded just the thing, almost like an adult version of the Laura Ingalls Wilder tales I always loved as a child.

It was definitely the right choice as I have been enchanted by the beauty of Verlyn Klinkenborg's prose, the strength of his understanding of nature and animals, and in the vivid images which make me feel as if I am there in the country. Truly, this description of the book is not overstating the case:

Klinkenborg's pieces are admired as much for their poetic writing as for their insight: peonies are "the sheepdog of flowers," dry snow "tumbles off the angled end of the plow-blade as if each crystal were completely independent, almost charged with static electricity," and land is most valuable "for its silence, its freedom from language." Klinkenborg writes with a grace and understanding that makes us more aware of the world around us, whether we live on a farm or in the middle of a city.

It is almost as good as taking a vacation. I find myself deliberately slowing down, savoring the writing, and simply relaxing.

There is a section in the middle of the book called Interludes wherein are included more direct commentary on subjects like genetically engineered crops, big farming, and so forth. I read the first couple but, frankly, I found nothing that I hadn't picked up already in the more lyrical journal style writing from the rest of the book. One may agree with him or not in these more opinionated pieces and I found that about 90% of the time I did agree. As I say, I lost nothing in briefly skimming most of them and moving on. The other essays which make up most of the book are more thoughtful and reflective and naturally tied to the land. Therefore, I found these pointed pieces to be overkill. Your milage may vary. The pointed pieces cost the book one star from me.

Despite the Interlude, this book is a rare find for me and one that I will enjoy rereading over the years.