Blogging Around: Grab Bag

Here are a few things that caught my eye last week.

As always, I'm counting on you to click through for the whole story and not just depend on these little tidbits to truly inform you. 

The Atlantic slips — somehow — inside mind of Benedict XVI
Not being an Atlantic reader I completely missed a piece they did, “The Pope in the Attic: Benedict in the Time of Francis” but luckily I was able to read about it at GetReligion. They point out it isn't journalism but an essay. And not just any essay but, as GetReligion puts it: "This piece is a love song to all of the Catholics who suffered so much during the terrifying reign of St. John Paul II and his bookworm bully, the future Pope Benedict XVI."

Now you can see why I say you need to read it. I hadn't seen this quote by Peggy Noonan before but it is so wonderfully expressive that it is going into my quote journal.

Do you remember that famous Peggy Noonan quote about Aaron Sorkin’s “The West Wing,” a show for which she served as a consultant?

A reporter once asked me if I thought, as John Podhoretz had written, that “The West Wing” is, essentially, left-wing pornography. I said no, that’s completely wrong. “The West Wing” is a left-wing nocturnal emission — undriven by facts, based on dreams, its impulses as passionate as they are involuntary and as unreflective as they are genuine.

That’s kind of what we are dealing with here, especially in the passages in which essayist Paul Elie all but claims to have read the mind of Benedict, perhaps while driving past his abode (I am not making that part up, honest).

 Fire of the Spirit for Catholic Teens 

This hit my in-box and it looks interesting.

"Fire of the Spirit" is a Catholic teen group devoted to the evangelization and awakening of Catholic teenagers everywhere to the reality of their faith, and the world we live in. Currently, our mission encompasses a bi-monthly e-magazine, and a group Catholic teen blog; all of which is produced "for teens by teens."

An Atheist's Case for Religious Liberty

The oldest rule of free speech is: I may disagree with every word you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it. Because if I don’t stand up for you, then by my silence I am accepting a system in which might makes right. I am helping to establish the rule of the jungle in the realm of ideas.

In sum, I’m for religious liberty because there really is no such thing as religious liberty. There is just freedom of thought and freedom of conscience, period. For all of us. And if we let the left knock it down, they are coming for all of us in the end.

Robert Tracinski at The Federalist

As always, it is about conscience and allowing each other the "right to be wrong." Really that book just keeps applying to everything. Via Jen Fitz at Sticking the Corners.

A Public School Bible Curriculum
A fascinating and well balanced story from Religion News Service about a proposed public school Bible curriculum. I'd say one needs this sort of thing just to be literate in timeless, classic literature which has influenced the great authors of Western civilization. And on that mixing religion and government issue? We're covered.

Contrary to popular assumptions, there is nothing unconstitutional about teaching about the Bible in public schools. The same Supreme Court ruling that outlawed school-sanctioned prayer in 1963 qualified that “Nothing we have said here indicates that such study of the Bible … when presented objectively as part of a secular program of education, may not be effected consistently with the First Amendment.”

The key words, of course, are “objectively” and “secular.” Haynes suggested that, constitutionally, “the bar is actually low — I think it’s hard for judges to get beyond the surface to questions of what a sound academic course looks like — but much more difficult to develop materials that actually both reflect constitutional principles and are academically solid.”

It can be done. I'd like to think my reading at Forgotten Classics of Robert Alter's translation of Genesis, requested by an atheist listener, looking at a book of the Bible as literature.

Via GetReligion whose own article about this piece you'll want to read also so you can appreciate just how good the original is at fair and balanced reporting of a touchy issue.

A Better Way to Say Sorry
It's instructional but also inspirational. A must read from cuppacocoa for parents, spouses, employers and employees, for everyone who ever made a mistake and needed to apologize ... so that's all of us! Even if you don't need feel you need work in this area, read it for the inspirational bit toward the end. Via Melanie Bettinelli on Facebook.

Evangelical Poverty, Fasting, and The Foods We Eat
Again from Jen Fitz at Sticking the Corners. A look at uncluttered living, Christian poverty, and the places we choose to spend our money. Like Jen, we're into real food which costs money. Read it all and check out the linked story which started her thinking about the topic. As for me, I'm going to try to lay my hands on a copy of Thomas Dubay's book which she mentions. I'm a fan and this is a topic about which we all need more inspiration.

Speaking of Food ... Our Wacky Dietary Prejudices 
Our attitude to food reflects just how privileged our society is and, in my opinion, just how little of substance many of us have to occupy our days.

This WSJ article about how many people are picking "Elimination Diets" hit a real chord for me. You wouldn't believe how these sorts of food preferences make life harder when doing food prep for retreats. We ask people to tell us if they have allergies. Many wind up telling us their "elimination" preferences as if they were allergies.

In a related piece (again from Melanie on Facebook) from TNation looks at our food fads from the 1980s until now. When you see how the older fads have been disproved, it makes one take a more jaundiced look at the current trends.

Suspect by Robert Crais

Suspect by Robert Crais

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a book any dog lover will enjoy. That is if they also enjoy thriller/mystery books.

A traumatized police officer and a traumatized war dog (German Shepherd Maggie) help each other get back to full life while working on the case that killed the officer's partner.

This sounds sappy but is not. It occasionally shows the dog's point of view and it is as canine as one could wish. This is nothing like the Rita Mae Brown series where the animals sound like little people talking to each other. Having had to learn something about how dogs think in order to manage a boisterous pack at our house, this book felt really "true."

The mystery is, as many reviewers have noted, telegraphed early on and, frankly, for me that was the least interesting part of the book. However, I appreciated the way that Crais added touches of humanity to characters who usually are handled in a stock fashion. A small time criminal's grief over his brother's death especially comes to mind.

The real story though is that of Scott and Maggie, each equally tough and vulnerable and needing a new pack in order to survive.

I was going to give this three stars but it has stuck with me to the point where I was recommending it to a gentleman who brought his Chihuhua to the grocery store today. I can do no less than give it a star for memorability.

Worth a Thousand Words: A Little Twig

Ein kleiner Zweig (A Little Twig)
painted by Edward B. Gordon

I don't know about such things, but this is practically perfect. Right? I just can't stop looking at it.

Thai Good Stories ...

... these are the ripples we are here to make in the world.



Via my sis on Facebook.

2014 Campbellian Anthology - Free

This has been around since February evidently but I'm just catching on. The good news is that this file is free (and DRM-free) until the Hugo voting closes. So get your copy now at StarShipSofa.

Worth a Thousand Words: Brown Bear

Brown Bear
taken by that photography genius we love, Remo Savisaar

Cognitive Anchoring

Namely, that doodling helped her research subjects remember up to 29% more than non-doodlers. And while doodling and knitting or crocheting are quite different activities, they share one trait: they can easily be done with some level of automaticity.

Take that, everyone who has been in meetings with me, wondering why I was knitting.

Oh, also, since it isn't just about me, just discovered my pal Heather Hutchinson Ordover is writing a book about this.

Read about it at Newsday.

Sign up for advance notice when the book is ready here. I did.

She's been blogging the book as she goes. Not my style. I'll wait until the whole thing is done.

Easter Reading

So we all chatter about what we're reading for Lent. What about Easter? Is there anything joyful, inspirational, informative that seems as if it would be good for the Easter season?

Naturally I wouldn't bring it up if I didn't have at least a couple of ideas. (Links go to my reviews.)

• Conversing With God In The Easter Season by Stephen Binz. Binz brings his wonderful lectio divina guidance to the Easter readings for each Sunday of the season.


• Jesus: A Pilgrimage by James Martin. Martin considers Christ's question to his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" as we journey with him through the Holy Land.


• In Conversation With God by Francis Fernandez. I've praised this series of daily devotionals before but the Lenten/Easter one may be the best of the group. I find it good for keeping Easter top of mind in daily life.


• The Ultimate Self-Help Book: Dante's Divine Comedy by Rod Dreher. This is an article from the Wall Street Journal but it reminded me that I'd been interested in rereading Dante's masterpiece. I recall finding Purgatorio extremely uplifting. I like John Ciardi's translation, but this time through will be using another so I can compare them.

What else? Leave comments with Easter reading ideas. And please include fiction. None occurred to me, but that just means I'm missing something.

UPDATE
Melanie Bettinelli's comment made me recall this book:

• The Twelve: The Lives of the Apostles After Galilee by C. Bernard Ruffin. I haven't read the whole thing, but the chapters I've read are pretty amazing. 

Well Said: I ask forgiveness ...

I ask forgiveness of anyone I have offended, but especially from those I have not influenced for good.

Blessed John XXIII

That's something good for each of us to keep in mind. It's not enough to be inoffensive. Our vocation is to influence for good, simply through our lives if in no other way.

The Hound of the Baskervilles ...

... at SFFaudio ... a simply superb mystery. And I had tons of fun talking about it with that simply superb gang of story lovers.

Scott has this great idea for an automated shower, if only Julie would front him a few dollars...

The guys at the bathhouse are not taking sides. We discuss the Chinese movie Shower at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

In which we get to the bottom of the Devil's Nest and the path of romance does not run true.

Chapters 14 and 15 are now available for your listening pleasure at Forgotten Classics podcast.

Well Said: A day may come when the courage of men fails ...

Sons of Gondor, of Rohan. My brothers. I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me! A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day! An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! by all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you, stand, men of the West!

Aaragorn, The Return of the King movie

For our brothers in the Ukraine, I fear that day has come.

Just as when Hitler took the Sudetenland and all that was heard were a few bleats of protest from weak leaders, so I see news coverage of Ukraine standing alone against a wolf while weak bleats come from all around ... and my heart breaks for them.

I mentioned this to a friend when the Crimean situation arose and he said, "Tough words."

But here we are with phase two, as I think of it. I can't keep this quote from my mind.

Then this weekend I was looking at the Kindle sample for Churchill's "The Gathering Storm" about the period between the two world wars and was struck by this.

THEME OF THE VOLUME.

HOW THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING PEOPLES

THROUGH THEIR UNWISDOM

CARELESSNESS AND GOOD NATURE

ALLOWED THE WICKED

TO REARM

And now here we are again.

Blogging Around: The Something Old, Something New Edition

Please note that none of these are complete in and of themselves. I'm counting on you to click through and read the whole story if you're interested.

"I’M A PATHOLOGIST ...

... which means that I run the lab, and I’m continually shocked by all the unnecessary lab work that comes my way."

There's more. get it at Humans of New York.

"I WAS SO FOCUSED ON BEING DEAF IN MY LEFT EAR ..."

A life lesson we all need reminding of, from Humans of New York.

BEST REVIEW I'VE EVER READ OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS
If you ever needed an excellent overview to give someone or wondered yourself why anyone would want to read The Lord of the Rings, go to Joseph's piece at Zombie Parent's Guide.

POPE FRANCIS AND THE CHURCH
A gaggle of stories worth reading. Notice how many of these are from The Deacon's Bench? It's my go-to for Catholic Church news and I can't recommend it highly enough.

• Pope Francis on priest sex abuse:

  I feel compelled to personally take on all the evil which some priests, quite a few in number, obviously not compared to the number of all the priests, to personally ask for forgiveness for the damage they have done for having sexually abused children. The Church is aware of this damage, it is personal, moral damage carried out by men of the Church, and we will not take one step backward with regards to how we will deal with this problem, and the sanctions that must be imposed. On the contrary, we have to be even stronger.

• USCCB: nearly 1,000 abuse allegations last year, 136 substantiated
  
• Students ask pope: “What makes you afraid?” — I myself found most interesting the Pope's answer about a big mistake he'd made. Also his comment about the different sorts of fear is one that's come to mind several times since I read this.
• How Pope Francis is rebranding the Catholic Church

WANT TO BECOME A BETTER WRITER?

Copy the work of others says this article from The Art of Manliness, a blog which I find has many articles that are just as good for ladies as gentlemen. They are talking about copying someone else's work by hand.

Copywork, as it’s called, used to be the standard method by which students learned to write, and it is the “secret” to how many of history’s greatest writers mastered the craft. While it may sound unsexy and unoriginal, it really works, and today we’ll show you how to get started.

5 B.S. RENAISSANCE MYTHS YOU LEARNED IN HISTORY CLASS
One reason I like Cracked.com is that they tell us history like it really was, rather than simply repeating what "everyone knows" which so often turns out to be wrong. If you like this one, check out the links at the end of the article for similar myth-busting about other historical periods. Language warning.

GRACE ON A DESERT ISLAND
A high school theology quiz that makes you laugh and makes you think. This is just a sampling and the answer key is in the comments at DarwinCatholic.

1. Tom Hanks is stranded alone on a desert island with only a volleyball to keep him company. He knows that as a member of the Church, missing Sunday mass counts as "grave matter" for a mortal sin. He wants to go to mass, but when Sunday comes around, he doesn't go. Has he committed a mortal sin? Briefly defend your answer. (3 points)

2. Several months later, Tom Hanks is still stuck on the island. A storm comes and washes away his beloved volleyball, Wilson. After weeping over the loss of his best friend, Tom Hanks raises his eyes to heaven and curses God. Despite all appearances to the contrary, he is in full possession of his mental faculties, and knows what he is doing. What kind of sin has he committed? Briefly defend your answer. (3 points)

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO MEL GIBSON? 
I had actually been wondering that very thing when I read this excerpt at (where else?) The Deacon's Bench. The heartfelt piece is from a reporter who used to think Gibson was public enemy number one, which also serves to make it an even more interesting meditation on the power of personal connection.

TESTING FOR THE KILL 
A good piece about the dark assumptions that underlie new developments in pre-natal testing for Down syndrome. The heart of it is at DarwinCatholic who sends you to read the whole thing.

THE SAINT OF THE NICU
A beautiful story of prayer and the way God surprises us with His answers from Jen Fulwiler at Conversion Diary.

Something Funny for Friday

From Catholic Memes

I can't help it. This just cracks me up.

Code Zero by Jonathan Maberry

Code Zero by Jonathan Maberry

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

SHORT VERSION:
WOAH.

This is the worthy sequel to Patient Zero.

At one point, Rudy Sanchez says that "this has done something fundamental to the American people."

I'll tell you this. It did something fundamental to me.

It was exciting, suspenseful, terrifying, and haunted me in my dreams and at random moments in my day.

And it was satisfying. Very satisfying.

I'm not sure Maberry can top this. Though I'm already looking forward to his next attempt to try.

LONG VERSION:
It's been six years since Joe Ledger was secretly recruited by the government to lead a combat team for the DMS,  a taskforce created to deal with problems that Homeland Security can't handle. That story was told in Patient Zero. This was where we met a group of terrorists who had developed a bio-weapon that turned people into zombies.

Every year since then, like clockwork, Joe and Echo Team have returned to battle a variety of seemingly supernatural foes, all developed by villains who are somehow going to make boatloads of cash off of the terror.

The action-packed stories are full of evil super-villains, noble heroes, smart mouthed quips, a smattering of philosophy about "good guys and bad guys" and heart. Lots of heart. All this is told at a roller coaster pace that barely allows you to breathe until you get to the end.

I love them.

In many ways, this book is similar to the rest of the series. Mother Night, a villain you love to hate, is a super-genius anarchist who's strewing chaos throughout the country over Labor Day weekend. She's got the DMS's computer tied up in knots and old evils that were defeated in previous books are now popping their heads up all over the country. Losses are high and the odds are very much against Ledger and his team. We know Joe will win. It's watching it happen that makes it fun.

It is superior to the other books, I think, because the pacing is more measured and there is more character development. I also enjoyed the flashbacks into the DMS's years before Joe joined them.

But in one very important way Code Zero was very different for me.

I felt a level of anxiety that was all out of proportion. Maberry is an expert at ratcheting up the stakes until you just can't see how anyone decent is going to survive the maelstrom. I was used to that. But somehow this felt different. I got a bit jumpy. I couldn't quit thinking about the horrific chaos during the day when I had to put the book down. It stuck with me in a way the other books didn't.

In fact, after I finished Code Zero I had to go find a nice, gentle book to read. I just couldn't face anything hard-edged. (Hello, No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.)

Then I woke up this morning to news on my clock radio about multiple stabbings at a high school. And I figured it out.

Maberry has his finger on the pulse of the evil that Americans today know all too well ... that lurks below the conscious level of our lives ... violent chaos that can strike without a moment's notice. Shootings at Fort Hood, restaurants, schools, and more have changed the mood of our country and made Mother Night's chaos resonate more deeply than usual.

Along the way, he looks at why people choose good or evil. This has been mentioned in other books, but never with so many examples as in this one. Maberry doesn't spell it out much but this conversation between a DMS scientist and Joe Ledger gave the larger context, as well as defining everyone's actions in the book.

"I've watched the tapes of Rudy interviewing some of the people you and Col. Riggs and the others have arrested. Some of them seem so ordinary. How can they commit those atrocities if they have a conscience? Is it their nature? Or is it a nurture thing? Are they from an environment that makes it ok for them?"

Joe grunted. "I asked Rudy that same exact question once."

"What did he say?"

"He said that the nature versus nurture question is fundamentally flawed because it assumes that there are only two possible forces at work on a person. Sure, a person's nature is a factor and that could be a produce of their brain chemistry or whatever makes a person a sociopath or a psychotic or a hero. Just as the forces in a person's life have to be taken into some account. Some abused children grow up to abuse. There's math for that. But neither viewpoint covers all the possible bases."

"So what's missing?"

"Choice," said Ledger. "Rudy thinks that choice is often more important than either nature or nurture. Some people grow up in hell and choose to let others share in that hell. Some people grow up in hell and they make damn sure they don't let those in their care ever glimpse those fires. It's a choice."

"Not everyone can make that choice."

"No, of course not. But a lot more people can than you might think." ...

"Choice," she said.

"Choice," he agreed. "It's what defines us. And it's probably the most underrated power in the world."

Code Zero is full of people choosing to save the world or burn it down. In most of the cases, the motivation comes down to something that Maberry does not name, but which I will make bold to label: love. We want to know we matter, that we make a difference, that someone "knows" us. Not for our accomplishments but simply because our "selves" matter.

Mother Night gives it a different name, and she may not tidily fall into this definition but, let's face it, she's super-villain crazy. I believe that her ultimate fate bears me out. It shows most in Maberry's final scenario at the end of the book as the answer to Rudy's statement that the chaos "has done something fundamental to the American people.

Truly this is a great book, especially for the shoot-em-up genre. It is also probably one that can be read as a stand alone without reading the others that came before.


AUDIO NOTES
I listened to the audiobook read by Ray Porter who was superb, as usual, at portraying Joe and every other character along the way. In this book Porter dialed his urgent, driving, delivery down some and thank goodness for that. The action was intense enough without being shoved over the edge of the cliff by a continually urgent tone. Porter also was more nuanced and thoughtful in his reading than I recall in previous Joe Ledger books. If this sounds odd when considering our heroes are fighting off zombies, it actually worked to make me consider the full horror being faced. Once again, kudos to Ray Porter. He's the reason I always choose audio for the Joe Ledger books.

Worth a Thousand Words: Satyr Riding on Top of Dolphin

Satyr Riding Dolphin
via Barcelona Photoblog

It occurred to me that I hadn't gone digging around in Barcelona Photoblog's archives for some time. Look at the treasure I found in the first month I chose (April 2007). It was hard to make a final choice, believe me. But this photo most of all made me say, "I want to go to there." And I do.

Movie Review: American Hustle

My rating ★★★½

A con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive partner Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild FBI agent, Richie DiMaso, who pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia.

Loosely based on the FBI ABSCAM operation of the late 1970s and early 1980s, American Hustle deals with elaborate con schemes while showing us the sprawling mess that was the conmen's lives behind the scenes.

I was interested in finding out about Abscam which I recall vaguely noticing at the time it happened as headlines would fly by. I was interested in seeing Christian Bale be someone besides Batman. And, most of all, my husband was interested in seeing this. So we watched it.

As with director David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook," this movie was surprising because it had a layer I did not expect. As it says in the beginning, "some of these things actually happened." Those are the details about Abscam, which are mostly in line with actual events. The insight into the characters in the movie are the screenwriters' contribution.

I enjoyed watching the con build and build and build to a ridiculous level. I enjoyed seeing the characters flail around in reaction to their own desires, while giving little thought to true consequences. And I enjoyed watching it all come tumbling down.

It isn't a "must see" but it was entertaining and informative. The acting was great, especially that of Bradley Cooper. And it added a new truism to our household, "the more you tell people they can't have something, the more they want it."

Book Giveway! A Guide to the Passion of the Christ

UP Network (Uplifting Entertainment) is airing 21 movies as Easter approaches in their Easter Lives Here series. Check out the link for all the movies they will be airing.

This Sunday, April 13, UP will air The Passion of the Christ in its network TV debut.

As those of us who have seen the movie know, the dramatic events portrayed depend upon a deep understanding of Christianity, and in fact of Catholicism, for fullest appreciation. So it isn't surprising that perplexing questions may arise after seeing the movie.

A Guide to the Passion of the Christ helps you delve a little deeper into some of the movie's profound riches. It’s a NYT bestseller that’s a resource book and scene-by-scene analysis of the film.

And we're giving it away!

Sign up in the comments box for your chance to win. If you don't want to go through the rigamarole of the Blogger comments sign up, you can leave a comment as Anonymous. Just be sure to include an email address so I can contact you if you win.

I'll draw the winner Friday, April 11, at 9 a.m. (central time) and announce it that day.

Book Bingo 5: A Book That is More Than 10 Years Old

Rumpole on Trial by John Mortimer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The bingo challenge gave me another that is familiar ground.

However, I let the decision wait for a few day. Then rearranging and cleaning out books I came across my collection of Rumpole books. I hadn't picked them up for some time, being familiar with the solutions to most of the mysteries.

When dipping into them I remembered the other reason for reading these delightful short stories. John Mortimer's style and Rumpole's personality are so engaging that it really doesn't matter if one knows the solution. These stories transport you to a different time with a rumpled knight in shining armor who just wants to get on with doing the one thing he may be able to control ... his job in getting various villains (and sometimes an innocent person) off of their legal charges.

What a joy it was to pick up this book at bedtime and dip into it before dropping off to sleep.

Well Said: The aim of art

The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.

Aristotle

This spoke to me after recording the next episode of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast, which I just finished previewing this morning.

Essentially, we talk about Aristotle's premise. What inward significance, as Catholics, do we see in books and movies? Now, I have to agree with Freud that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. But oftentimes, there is more to art than meets our first glance. N'est ce pas?

Firefly References on Castle

I was just thinking yesterday that I needed to rewatch Firefly. It's been a long time since I had a marathon. And then I came across this.




Yeah, it's been too long. I enjoy Castle, but I need the real thing.

Well Said: Conspiracy Versus Incompetence

I find [H. P.] Lovecraft's general paranoia a bit hard to empathize with -- I tend to think of the world as being ruled mostly by benign incompetence, rather than malicious conspiracy.

Alex, Goodreads

Indeed. I was struck by this when I saw it a few weeks ago on Goodreads. I'd recently had a conversation with someone who I really respect but who flabbergasted me by saying that he thought the Catholic Church was a vast, malicious conspiracy. Oh, and that the conspiracy began very soon after Jesus' death. This was supported by all the reading he had done.

I have to say that my experience of the Church ... and indeed of most organizations, whether secular or religious ... tends to fall in line with Alex's quote above. Yes, you do get evil sometimes. Hitler's and Stalin's legacies alone testify to that and we all wish those were the only two of their kind we could point to.

But for the most part, most people are generally good at heart. We're just not as good at being competent as we all think we are. And neither is the next guy.

Worth a Thousand Words: Goldcrest

Goldcrest
taken by Remo Savisaar

As always, to fully appreciate Remo's incomparable nature photography, click through and examine the image in full size. I just don't know how he gets these shots. I only know I'm grateful he shares them with us.

Catholic by Choice by Richard Cole

Catholic by Choice: Why I Embraced the Faith, Joined the Church, and Embarked on the Adventure of a Lifetime by Richard Cole

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I read this for the Patheos book club after they approached me because they needed more bloggers to participate.

Originally I thought, "another conversion story ... I've read so many, do I need to read another?" I forgot, of course, that every conversion story is the same, a love story. And every conversion story is unique because each of us is uniquely different. As it turns out, this was a very engaging reading experience, to the point where I read it in 24 hours.

I really enjoyed reading Richard Cole's very honest account of his internal struggles after it became clear that God was tapping him on the shoulder to invite him to a closer relationship, through the Catholic Church. I appreciated the way he'd tell sitting down at the kitchen table to ask honest questions about things troubling him and then would relate Jesus' answer. Usually direct, often surprising ... and that all rang very true to me.

I also appreciated Cole's honest accounting of dealing with his wife about faith. Interestingly she was in the process of moving away from Catholicism to new age spiritualism. This troubled Cole and led to several conversations which showed two people trying to move into greater relationship with God through very different paths. It seemed especially relevant to our times when so many people are moving away from the faith (or lack thereof) in which they were raised and find themselves adapting to "mixed marriages."

I would be curious to hear the author's wife's reasons for giving her husband that three-day gift certificate to a retreat at a monastery, which is what kicked off his conversion process. Since she herself was in the process of moving away from Catholicism it was a generous and interesting gift but those reasons aren't given in the book.

Cole was a lot more directed in his conversion that I was in mine. I'd just go along, something would happen to get my attention and I'd respond and then go off in whatever new direction seemed indicated, happy and oblivious until the next attention-getting bop on the head from God. Cole worked on his as if it were a Divine Assignment he'd be graded on, with a lot of worry and attention and introspection that would have worn me out.

Not that my own enthusiasm and gung-ho attitude probably didn't get wearing for my own family, it is just that I didn't work it like a program with boxes to check off a list. I might not have been thrilled about the idea of RCIA classes, but I just figured if that was what God wanted, then that's what I'd do. No wonder my spiritual progress during that time was a surprise to me, a welcome one to be sure but still not something I'd expected or worked to get.

And that's what makes each conversion story both different and the same, in some sense. This one is definitely worth reading. Ultimately it focused me on thinking about Jesus' own interactions in my own life, in a different way than I'd been doing lately. And that's a good thing. For me anyway.

NOTE ABOUT THE INTRODUCTION:
For some reason the introduction has a lot of details about how the author's life and family have turned out after his conversion. This was rather off-putting and left me in a distinct mood of not being interested in reading the actual book. Obviously, this was overcome with the first chapter, but there's no reason to put yourself through that. Skip the intro and read it after the rest of the book.

REVIEW COPY PROVIDED FREE
The review copy was provided by the Patheos Book Club. Publishers pay for Patheos to feature their books. My review is my own based solely on the book's merits.

Noah ... the Movie ... the Controversies - MORE UPDATES

I've been pretty excited about the upcoming Noah movie ever since I heard about it. Then I saw the trailer and got even more excited.

This looked like a classic Bible movie, the likes of which I loved watching as a kid. The Ten Commandments. Ben Hur. You know what I'm talkin' about. Eye popping special effects, miracles, heroic struggles, bigger-than-life stuff.

The fact that we were completely secular and didn't give God a second thought had nothing to do with it. These movies rocked.

I was ready for Noah to rock my world in the same way.

Then I began hearing swirling discontent coming from people who were afraid the movie wouldn't be purely Biblical enough.

Probably.

This is a Hollywood movie after all.

Film makers have lots of other considerations and even when they've loved a story since their youth, they make trade offs. This was recently called to mind when rewatching all of The Lord of the Rings movies for A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast recently.

Director Peter Jackson made some choices I agreed with and some I didn't. He mentions in the extras that he actually got lost down the wrong track a few times and was able to return to the original message only at the last minute.

In fact, that's not a bad place to start when considering how stories must be adapted to move from one medium to another. Since the Bible was originally oral and then written down, Jewish tradition often chose to keep everything even when it conflicted. They didn't want to throw something out in case it was important in a way they couldn't see at the time.

And from that arose the tradition of midrash. Midrash is a traditional Jewish way of trying to understand the underlying spirit of scripture, sometimes connecting it to modern life, by creating parables. This allows for some imaginative storytelling as rabbis look for interpretations that are not immediately obvious but are nevertheless held within the original text.

I figured that as long as we got a good, entertaining movie Noah would, at the very least, be an interesting modern midrash on the story's applicability to our times.

Steven D. Greydanus, respected movie critic for the National Catholic Register, devout Catholic, has invested a considerable amount of thought into the flap over Noah.

Whatever the movie looks like, I expect some pious moviegoers, especially biblical literalists, will be upset or angry about anything in the film that goes beyond the biblical text, or that contradicts their own ideas about the story, or that doesn’t dovetail with their conception of the message of the Bible.

Is this really necessary? I don’t think so. By way of providing some perspective, here are a few points that I think thoughtful Christians, particularly Catholics, should consider in evaluating Aronofsky’s film and others like it.

We all grow up with this version of the story, we read it to our own kids, and many of us never look at the text any other way. (For example, picture books invariably stick with the “two by two” motif, ignoring the verses that refer to seven pairs of “clean” animals.)

There’s nothing wrong with this familiar version of the story. But we shouldn’t mistake it for the canonical story itself — nor should we be too quick to reject interpretative or imaginative approaches to the text that challenge our assumptions. A retelling that defamiliarizes the story, that makes us rethink what we thought we knew, can be a valuable thing.

Greydanus hits the nail on the head. He's got several good pieces which I read with interest as they came along. If you are curious about why the movie is worth watching, despite not being what might be called "strictly Biblical" then these may interest you also. Heck, they're interesting no matter what.

• Everybody chill out about the 'Noah' movie — this where the above excerpt comes from and he develops this theme quite well.
• Interview: ‘Noah’ Writer-Director Darren Aronofsky and Co-writer Ari Handel — this had to be fun for Greydanus because Aronofsky and Handel had read his "Everybody chill out" piece and loved it.
• SDG Reviews 'Noah' - I haven't read this yet. But SDG's reviews are always thoughtful and good.
  

Here's another piece (WSJ: Ark-itectural Digest) which has nothing whatever to do with controversies, but has everything to do with how the filmmakers combined digital and physical elements for the special effects. For instance they actually built the ark to Biblical proportions. The ultimate test was when Hurricane Sandy came along.

In a clearing within a woodsy arboretum on Long Island, on dry land, Mr. Friedberg's crew spent about six months erecting the front entrance and sides of an ark about 60 feet high, out of steel and foam designed to look like logs. For scenes in the ark's interior, they built a three-story set to the same scale inside an armory in Brooklyn.

"We decided that it would be built to biblical proportions," Mr. Friedberg explains. That means it isn't a seafaring ship but a large rectangular box intended to keep Noah's family and the menagerie afloat, specified by scripture to be 30 cubits high, 50 cubits wide and 300 cubits long (a cubit is the distance from human elbow to middle fingertip). Sunk in a cement foundation, the "ark" was framed in I-beams.

In October of 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit like some kind of cosmic message and flooded parts of New York. "The ark did fine," says Mr. Friedberg. "It enjoyed its chance at some real weather. It did better than some of our own houses."

I can't wait.

UPDATE
Other Christian reactions to Noah, all via Brandywine Books.

• Phil Cooke: Why I'm Recommending Christians See The Movie Noah
  He's got many good reasons, but this was my favorite:

  9) Do we as a Christian community really need to “protect” ourselves from a movie that isn’t 100% Biblically accurate? Would the Apostle Paul have run from the challenge? Rather than withdrawing from the discussion, I suggest that we seize the moment, turn the tables, and use this to our advantage. Pastors should be preaching messages on the Noah story. Let’s use the film to share our faith with friends and co-workers. Like the Old Testament’s Joseph, who rose to remarkable heights in an alien and hostile culture, let’s not shy away from these opportunities, rather, let’s use them to demonstrate the power of God’s Word.

• Gregory Alan Thornbury: Darren Aronofsky's Noah.
  It's a long, thoughtful piece that you need to go read for yourself, but let's let this give the overall tone:

  Aronofksy's Noah is a way of putting ourselves before the Bible's "dangerous question" as Barth put it. The grim, gritty, and supernatural antediluvian biblical world takes us back into ancient history, of origins. Who are we? What has gone wrong with the world? Where is justice? Is God there? What does he have to say? That ancient world sets us back on our heels and forces us to take stock in this strange new world inside the Bible.

YET MORE UPDATES
Steven D. Greydanus is turning into quite the authority on the Noah movie. He's being interviewed everywhere, asked tons on questions, and has a couple more pieces written. I'm not reading either of these until I've seen the movie, but wanted to share these links.

• The Noah Movie Controversies answers the many questions he's being asked. If there's a misconception out there, he's addressing it.
• Noah: A Theological Reflection. Here's the description of the piece: Darren Aronofsky’s controversial film is sometimes divisive and divided, but is also deeply serious about Scripture and essential questions.
  

AND ANOTHER UPDATE

• Father Barron's take on Noah ... What is significant is that Noah remains utterly focused throughout, not on his own freedom, but on the desire and purpose of God. God, creation, providence, sin, obedience, salvation: not bad for a major Hollywood movie!
• Darwin Catholic's review ... which comes down halfway between Greydanus' enthusiasm and (as Darwin put it, taking the words from my mouth) "Barbara Nicolosi's bizarre rant." (Note: Nicolosi's piece made me long for Roger Ebert's witty, erudite reviews of movies he hated. Nicolosi is no Ebert.) At any rate, Darwin is always worth reading and I'll go past his spoiler alert once I've seen the movie.

Worth a Thousand Words: Shadow Play

Schattenspiel (Shadow Play)
by Edward B. Gordon

I simply love Edward B. Gordon's artistic style and the fact that he records everyday life in the city. This painting exemplifies both those traits.

Worth a Thousand Words: Trevi Fountain

Trevi Fountain detail
taken by Joseph at Zombie Parent's Guide

As I've mentioned before, I am thoroughly enjoying Joseph's pictorial records of his family's travels while they are living in England. I'm getting views of places like Pompeii and Rome, among others, that I might never get to see in person.

Book Review: The C. S. Lewis Bible

C. S. Lewis Bible: New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I've never understood the enthusiasm for study Bibles on a single theme or with a single person's commentary. Obviously, they are popular because you can see them everywhere. When this Bible came to my attention, I blanched.

However, it seems as if 2014 is fast becoming my "year of C.S. Lewis" as I work my way through his books in audio format. So I took a closer look on Amazon where I found Brandon Vogt's review, which I encourage you to read. I trust Brandon's judgment a lot from having read his blog. His thoughtful comments also showed that he, too, was leery of this sort of study bible. He pointed out that, with care, one can view such a work as having midrash available on scripture and that opened up another way to consider it.

I'm not crazy about the NRSV translation but that is a matter of personal taste admittedly. Catholics will note that this is a Protestant Bible and so has fewer books than a Catholic Bible would. The committee who put this together does seem to have done an impressive job of carefully matching Lewis's comments in the appropriate spot without overdoing it. It is definitely a Bible first and foremost, with occasional C.S. Lewis comments from a wide variety of sources. It quickly became a favorite morning read.

I do want to mention that except for the cover, this book is a work of beauty. The typesetting, format, and overall look are gorgeous. The cover ... well, you can see that for yourself. Nothing can make it anything except ugly. But once the cover is opened, the interior is beautiful. This is the book that proves the old adage. Don't judge this book by its cover.

Well Said: Comedy and Diversity

Jerry Seinfeld responding to a question about a lack of diversity in his online series, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," on CBS This Morning, February 2014.

People think it's the census or something. This has gotta represent the actual pie chart of America? Who cares? Funny is the world I live in. You're funny, I'm interested. You're not funny, I'm not interested. I have no interest in gender or race or anything like that. But everyone else is kinda with their little calculating, "Is this the exact right mix?" To me, it's anti-comedy. It's more about PC nonsense than "are you making us laugh or not?"

Precisely.

Almost Brand New Puppies

These three baby boys came in overnight with no mom. The person who found them tried to care for them the best she could, but at just a few days old, they needed more care than she could provide. Thanks to your donations of heating pads, bottles, and formula they are still alive. It's touch and go, of course, but YOU are making a difference.

Dallas Animal Services Facebook page

This takes me back to the old days when my parents raised and bred Bulmastiffs for show. We sometimes had teeny tinies like this who needed extra care. I can still remember getting the feeding tube down a bitty baby and watching it suddenly go to sleep in my hands as I pushed the syringe slowly and it became ... full.

I've gotta say that no one uses Facebook to better advantage than Dallas Animal Services. They update it continually with pictures and stories that make me feel good, know their needs, and just generally keep them top-of-mind. Aside from our Boxer needs, we generally have adopted rescue pets from the SPCA. However, the next time we'll probably go to Dallas Animal Services. The SPCA has some very generous donors and now has a "no kill" policy but Dallas Animal Services doesn't have that luxury.

Jesus: A Pilgrimage by James Martin

Jesus: A Pilgrimage by James J. Martin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I am a fan of Father James Martin's books, especially A Jesuit Off-Broadway. When Scott chose this book for our next religious book discussion at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast, I was excited, having been interested since I first saw it mentioned at Amazon.

This is a much thicker and more substantive book than I expected. The bibliography alone makes one step back and realize there is more hard-core scholarship than in any of his previous books. Yet it is written in Father Martin's trademark style, interspersing personal experience with the main book text. It is accessible and interesting. It isn't dumbed down and isn't too scholarly. It's juuuuust right.

Martin's goal is to help us consider our answer to Christ's question to his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?"

This means we must consider what it means to be "fully human and fully divine." Martin does a very good job of presenting a lot of contextual information for understanding Jesus' life and ministry through this lens. As we travel through the gospels, so to speak, he intertwines the various stops (recruiting the disciples, healing demoniacs, etc.) with his own pilgrimage to Israel. He then stops to place everything in the context of our own lives and is extremely generous in sharing his own life changing experiences, whether flattering or not. I especially appreciate Martin's openness in sharing the spiritual experiences he had, most notably that in the Church of the Resurrection.

I especially appreciate the way that Father Martin approaches questions from all angles. For example, when considering Christ's healings of "demoniacs," Martin isn't afraid to discuss the idea of psychological or physiological illness as a cause. This will be welcome to those who like to get down to examining facts. However, he always does this in a thoughtful, thorough, Christian way that leaves no doubt we are reading about the Messiah and that miracles can (and do) happen.

Each chapter ends with Martin's deeper thoughts on how our own lives can be enriched with the aid of what Christ has shown us about this part of his life. This is where the rubber meets the road for most of us and Martin brings great sensitivity and understanding to these pages. In fact, I was enduring great inner turmoil about something when I read Martin's thoughts of what it means to take up your cross daily. The whole section spoke to me strongly, but nothing more than "wait for the resurrection" which I sorely needed to hear that very day.

This is the sort of book that used to be much more common. To Know Christ Jesus by Francis Sheed and Life of Christ by Fulton Sheen are just a couple of the older books I've read like this.  We have been sorely in need of a new one and I'm so pleased that James Martin wrote this book which is truly a treasure for reading and rereading. I'm beginning to feel that this book might be a "must have" for Christians who want a more rounded, personal experience of Christ. Or for those who don't understand the "Christian thing" and would like some general context of their own.

I also have a feeling that a lot of readers are going to come away wanting to visit the Holy Land. Not me, but I appreciate Father Martin's descriptions as it helps me "feel" the place a bit better. And, to be fair, I've never especially felt the need to go to Rome or anywhere else on pilgrimage, for that matter.

However, what it did was help me feel a deeper familiarity, connection, friendship dare I say, with Jesus when I encounter Him in the gospels. It made me think of Father Martin's story about his spiritual director showing him a green tree and reminding him it would be red in autumn, without anyone ever seeing the gradual change. That's what happened to me. A step closer. All to the credit of this book, which is doing it without "wows" or "aha" moments. Truly that is a credit to this work.

NOTE
I also received the audiobook for review. I was eagerly anticipating this but was surprised to find that Father Martin's reading was extremely plain and without nuance or subtlety. In a sense, it was like a father reading to his children who is unused to reading aloud. I'm used to authors reading their work who are extremely good at it, such as Father Robert Barron or Neil Gaiman (yes, I know that is an unusual pair to put together but both are excellent at reading aloud).

That said, once I adjusted to Martin's style, or lack thereof, it actually worked fine for this book. In a sense, it took out any of his own personality and allowed the text to speak for itself. Which is actually just as it should be for a book like this. With that in mind, I can recommend the audiobook.

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

I was completely blank on today being a feast day of any sort. Thanks to Ingrid for pointing out to me that this is the Annunciation so I could join in celebrating the wonder of Mary's yes to God's messenger.

This actually makes me think about Tolkien's including March 25 as a significant date in The Lord of the Rings. (Yes, three podcasts and all that talking have left me with Tolkien on the brain.) 

I think of Tolkien mentioning in a letter that faithful Sam was truly the hero of the book. He humbly served Frodo for the love of his master. The hardships he went through as Frodo's companion were more than he'd have been able to imagine. And yet he never even considered turning back, though Elrond made it clear that anyone except Frodo could without any need to feel obligated.

Tolkien was such a devout Catholic that surely Mary's loving service and "yes" without understanding the cost to herself surely had to be part of the worldview that went into creating Sam's character. It surely helps me understand Mary just a tiny bit more.

And now with that lengthy thought out of the way, here is something from those who gave this celebration due consideration and which I last featured in 2012.

Leonardo da Vinci. The Annunciation.
Detail. c. 1472-1475. Oil and tempera on wood. Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy.

On today's feast the Church celebrates the mystery of the Incarnation and, at the same time, the vocation of Our Lady. It was her faithful response to the angel's message, her fiat, that began the work of redemption...

The setting of this feast day, March 25th, corresponds to Christmas. In addition, there is ancient tradition that the creation of the world and the commencement and conclusion of the Redemption all happened to coincide at the vernal equinox.

As the greatest proof of his love for us, God had his only Son become man to save us from our sins. In this way Jesus merited for us the dignity of becoming children of God. His arrival signalled the fullness of time. St. Paul puts it quite literally that Jesus was born of a woman. (cf The Navarre Bible, Romans and Galatians, note to Gal 4:4) Jesus did not come to earth as a spirit. He truly became man, like one of us. He received his human nature from Our Lady's immaculate womb. Today's feat, therefore, is really in honour of Jesus and Mary. That is why Fr. Luis de Granada has pointed out: It is reasonable to consider, first and foremost, the purity and sanctity of the Woman whom God chose 'ab aeterno' to give form to his humanity.

When God decided to create the first man, he first took care to create a fitting environment for him, which was the Garden of Eden. It makes sense, then, that when god made ready to send his Son, the Christ, he likewise prepared for him a worthy environment, namely, the body and soul of the Blessed Virgin. (Life of Jesus Christ, I)

As we consider the significance of this Solemnity, we find Jesus very closely united to Mary. When the Blessed Virgin said Yes, freely, to the plans revealed to her by the Creator, the divine Word assumed a human nature: a rational soul and a body, which was formed in the most pure womb of Mary. The divine nature and the human were united in a single Person: Jesus Christ, true God and, thenceforth, true Man; the only-begotten and eternal Son of the Father, and from that moment on, as Man, the true son of Mary. ... (J. Escriva, Friends of God, 274)

In Conversation with God,
Vol. 6: Special Feasts: January to June

Have you ever noticed how many annunciation paintings have Mary interrupted at her reading? This is because of Mary's association with the Word. I never noticed this myself until I had to look through many paintings on the subject for a book I was laying out.

Also, it's a feast day, y'all! No fasting. That means no Lenten sacrifice. So Tom can have some ice cream! It's the little things, right?

St. Peter's Bones by Thomas J. Craughwell

St. Peter's Bones: How the Relics of the First Pope Were Lost and Found . . . and Then Lost and Found Again by Thomas J. Craughwell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In 1939, while reconstructing the grottoes below St. Peter's Basilica, a workman's shovel struck not dirt or rock but open air. After inspecting what could be seen through the hole they'd made in the mausoleum's roof, Pope Pius XII secretly authorized a full-scale excavation. What lay beneath?

This book was interesting and well written as one would expect from Thomas J. Craughwell. However, it had a major structural flaw. What I was interested in was the discovery of St. Peter's bones by the archaeologists excavating the catacombs. Every time the action reached a peak moment the next chapter would stop and drag us back into Christian history, completely stopping the momentum and eventually frustrating me to the point where I just would skip the history in order to get back to the main story.

It is a fine thing, one supposes, to educate as one goes, but in this case it not only messed with the book overall but felt as if one were being forced to have a history lesson.

You won't be wasting your time in reading this book but a far better telling can be found in The Bones of Saint Peter by John Evangelist Walsh (my review here). He just tells the exciting story with historical bits wound in only as necessary for understanding.

St. Peter's Bones has a small amount of updated developments since the 1982 publication of The Bones of Saint Peter so there is that going for it.

NOTICE: This book was provided by the publisher for me to review. I think it's pretty obvious I didn't let that influence me.

Person of Interest: "/" "Root Path"

Holy moly the last episode knocked me out.

I was so surprised to see several threads all woven together with one big message presented from different angles: each person matters, the ends don't justify the means, and there is a big plan for each of us. These came from unexpected sources in the show also.

I especially love the way that The Machine is putting Root's personal good over it's own survival. If ever there was a Catholic theme in this show, this show had it.

The Value of Reading Exodus, a Chapter at a Time

I'm not sure how I fell into this habit.

I come home from work, fix a cuppa Joe, the dogs whisk around me excitedly as I add the milk and sugar (they know what's coming next) ... pick up my Bible from the hearth and open the patio door, the dogs race to the bottom of the yard together, and I go out to sit in the sun.

I sit in the sun and open up my Bible to Exodus to slowly read the next chapter.

I must have begun this two or three weeks before Lent began. For some reason, I'd been wanting to read Exodus for a while. Maybe because I'd read Genesis several times in the last couple of years for various reasons. (Surprisingly, you can have various reasons to read Genesis. I'd never have believed it in my pre-Christian days.)

I tried also reading commentaries but it turned out that what I wanted, deep down, was to just read the words ... and see what I found there for myself.

Maybe that's why I like the Ronald Knox translation I have been using. The lack of subheads, unobtrusive placement of verse numbers, the paragraph structure, the relatively few explanatory notes ... all these things lend themselves to simple reading. It's restful to simply sit and read.

Maybe that's also why things in the text stand out and surprise me.

I was surprised to find it dawning on me that all Moses asked of Pharaoh was to let the Hebrew slaves go worship in the desert for a few days. Not to "let my people go" out of slavery. Just to go worship ... and then they'd come back.

I guess I really absorbed more of The Ten Commandments than I realized.

Then I was bemused by Pharaoh's stubbornness. Yes, I know God said he'd harden his heart, but this looked like a familiar pattern. Something we all understood.

When he finally began to relent, Pharaoh said, well ok but you have to worship here. No leaving the country.

More plagues.

Then Pharaoh relented. A little. Ok, but who's going with  you? What? You want to take the women, children, and livestock? Absolutely not. Just the men can leave.

More plagues.

Ok, I'll let you take the women and kids. But not the livestock. No way. They stay here.

More plagues ... and the death of all the firstborn and Pharaoh's famous full relenting.

How many times have we done that? We try to work deals with God. We'll give in, a little, but we want to maintain control, have things on our own terms as much as possible. We're not fooling anyone, certainly not God. Just like Pharaoh. To think I'd never have come across that if I hadn't been just sitting and reading a little at a time.

Right now I have been working my way through the liturgical instructions that come along with receiving the tablets of commandments written "with God's own finger."

I had no idea that after hearing the commandments, Moses was sent back down the mountain to round up the top 70 elders and bring them back up as witnesses for more in-depth coverage of just how the laws would apply.

As God worked his way through all the circumstances and applications of law, I kept thinking of how these people were just like us. And they were in circumstances just like the ones that we find ourselves in. What a tangible connection between me and those long-ago people.

Even in the lengthy chapters about how the tabernacle was to be constructed, how the priests' garments were to be woven, how the poles would go through the altar, I found fascinating tidbits. I thought about how God selected the craftsmen by name, saying that their creative spirits were given by him to be used for this purpose.

I could picture the tabernacle and how the men would carry it, based on the careful description of making holes for the poles to go through. It also gave me a sense of just how deeply the connection went for the Hebrew people to their temple. If God cared so much about these details, they surely would carry over to everything connected to him. I felt it in a deeper way than merely "knowing" the facts.

I'm not always fascinated. But I read it anyway and there is always something that I stop and think about. This is truly a different sort of Bible reading for me.

After I'm done I will most probably pick my Navarre Bible and read through the commentary. But for now, experiencing the Word without a filter is a truly enlightening and inspirational journey into the desert.

DVD Review: The Faithful Traveler in the Holy Land

This review is by Scott Danielson, my podcasting partner over at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

I haven't made a trip to The Holy Land, but would like to go. There's got to be something special about walking where Jesus and his contemporaries walked. The escape from day-to-day life into a world that's very different (for me) yet very familiar. I imagine contemplative moments taken after stepping away from the groups, where one can really process the fact that one is truly and actually in the Holy Land. I imagine that such a trip would be faith affirming, and... well, there's no need to imagine what it would be like because Diana von Glahn took us along with her on a tour.

The Faithful Traveler in the Holy Land is a joyful, personal, and informative travelogue. Diana is the host and her husband David shoots and directs the show.

I thoroughly enjoyed all six episodes. The tour starts at Mount Carmel and ends with the Via Dolorosa and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. On the way, Diana shows us the Dead Sea, Bethlehem, Jerusalem's Walls, the Sea of Galilee, and many other places.

On of the reasons for my enjoyment is that Diana not only explains the historical significance of the art and architecture she encounters, but she also shares her faith. Sometimes clearly moved, she shares her personal thoughts at several of the sites. In turn, I come away from this series moved myself. I'm both thankful for the experience of having watched and am more eager to take a trip myself.

But whether I take that trip or not, I appreciate and agree with what Diana said near the end of the series as she muses about whether or not the contested sites along the Via Dolorosa are the actual path that Christ took to Golgotha:

What matters is what's in our hearts and what we bring to these windy streets. Whether we meet Jesus along them, I think, depends on our willingness and desire to do so. Our frame of mind. And the openness of our hearts.

Amen.

The Faithful Traveler is available on DVD and is also airing on EWTN. For more information, visit The Faithful Traveler website.

PILGRIMAGE
Diana and David von Glahn have organized a pilgrimage to the Holy Land for this summer. I've got to say that were I ever to go on pilgrimage, this is the group I'd want to go with. Who wouldn't want to hang out with Diana? (Probably with David too, but I haven't seen him on screen ... so I've got nothin' to work with here.)

We just can't stop talking about The Lord of the Rings ...

... so we watched all the movies (extended editions, 12 hours well spent) and went on talking! Catch it in episode 79 of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

Good Pope, Bad Pope by Mike Aquilina

Good Pope, Bad Pope: Their Lives, Our Lessons by Mike Aquilina

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Of course, we all know about Pope Francis.

Even when he became a bishop and then a cardinal, he was in the habit of walking rather than riding, fasting, staying up all night to pray, and in general acting more like a humble servant than like a prince. But now that he was a pope, he was surrounded by imperial pomp. Would it change him?

The people knew right away that this pope was different. He gave his gifts to the poor.

The change of tone did not stop there. He lived in the magnificent palaces built by his predecessors, but he lived like a man who had taken a vow of poverty. He would visit the bedsides of the sick, minister to lepers, and wash the feet of the poor.

Except this isn't about Pope Francis.

It is about Michele Ghisleri, elected pope in 1566, who became Pope Pius V. (I changed just a bit of the wording to avoid mentioning Pius's name, or the Borgias and Medicis ...) When I read this, though, it was obvious that our good Pope Francis was not unique and would have been easily recognizable to Catholics in 1566. That's just one of the interesting things I found out when reading Good Pope, Bad Pope.

I was intrigued by the idea of reading about some bad popes (aside from the usual acknowledgement of their existence and then ... let's never speak of them again). As it turns out, this book was unexpectedly inspiring. The good popes, of course, one expects to be inspiring. However, by placing bad popes firmly in context of their time and without making apologies for their terrible moral qualities, Mike Aquilina shows that these men's shortcomings actually helped keep them from damaging the Church.

Pope Alexander VI, born Rodrigo Borgia, who was roundly hated by the people of Rome sowed the seeds of much needed reform with his appalling behavior. Pope Virgilius worked like a dog to become pope so he could lend support to his favorite heresy. But once he was installed he seemed to lose interest and actually became quite orthodox. I found this not only fascinating but inspiring as a record of the Holy Spirit's safeguarding of the Church under even the worst leaders.

This was a great, quick read and it fills in a gap in Catholic history that we would rather sweep under the rug. Highly recommended.

Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

C.S. Lewis explores the common ground upon which all of those of Christian faith stand together. Bringing together Lewis’ legendary broadcast talks from World War Two, Mere Christianity provides an unequaled opportunity for believers and nonbelievers alike to hear this powerful apologetic for the Christian faith.

I recall reading this some time ago and really liking it. Having grown to think of Geoffrey Howard's narration as C.S. Lewis's voice when listening to Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra, I was interested to hear him read this nonfiction.

I also was interested to reread this because one of the most common critiques I see of this book is that it isn't easy for modern minds to relate to it. That puzzled me because I didn't recall anything that was particularly specific to the 1940s, other than perhaps an occasional reference to Nazis as examples of evil doers. And those sorts of references are easily understood even in these "modern" times if one gauges the matter from TV and movies.

Having read the book, I don't understand that critique. I suspect that those who have such complaints are not being fully honest with why they might not approve of some parts of what Lewis is saying. They need not agree, but what he says is actually the way Christians see the world.

I enjoyed this immensely as an extremely logical and understandable explanation to which anyone can relate. One need not agree with the author about Christianity or God, but one gets an excellent description of how a Christian understands the world. And that is a valuable thing these days, it seems to me. It is also a good devotional as I was reminded of many of the basics upon which my life is based and to which I aspire.

When the owner's away ...

The dog is not allowed on the bed. The owner set up a camera to see what happens when he is gone. This made me laugh. It is just what Kaylee would do ...




Via Miss Cellania (language warning for some entries on her blog).

Review: Today We Saw the Face of God

This little documentary tells the story of the final day of a medical team visiting Haiti to provide regular medical care to villagers near Port au Prince. Just as they are ready to leave, the catastrophic 2010 earthquake happens and they are thrust into the center of the disaster.

I enjoyed the way this documentary didn't only focus the medical team's experiences after the earthquake but also gave us a good idea of what it  was like beforehand. We got to see the Haitians as regular people, coming for medical treatment in everyday life. We also got to know the mission team members a bit as they told about their reactions to Haiti before the disaster. This made the impact of their story afterward all the more interesting.

I have to say that for a movie with the title "Today We Saw the Face of God," there was remarkably little talk about faith in the film. That was rather surprising and led to a bit of a shallower feel than I'd have expected. Why were these people moved to make the medical mission? It seemed clear from remarks made at the end that they were moved by their faith but we were left to put that together ourselves. There were some other moments where we were left to connect of the dots ourselves more than I'd have liked also, most of them seeming to do with faith.

Those quibbles aside, the documentary is worth watching as this team seemed to be the only stopgap in place before the emergency teams got to the island after the disaster. It is a view into a situation that is blessedly unimaginable for most of us.

FULL DISCLOSURE
This is a documentary that Rose, our youngest daughter, edited when she was a senior in film school. I don't think it swayed my reaction. But there's always that possibility.

Book Bingo 4 - A Book With Mystery

Now this is an easy one. I'd finished an audio book and was wanting to get back to my favorite back-up audio, something featuring Sherlock Holmes read by Derek Jacobi.

In this case, the audiobook I turned to is the last collection of Holmes short stories: The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes.

Nothing could be more splendid than the way Jacobi characterizes Holmes, lightly and with a touch of playfulness ... almost like a seriously minded Bertie Wooster. It lightens up the Holmes-Watson relationship quite a bit and makes these a sheer delight. I'm on the third or fourth story and they do seem to be more of a mixed bag than the usual lot, but Jacobi's narration makes me simply enjoy the ride no matter where it takes us.