A Review of Thus Sayeth the Lord That Makes Me Very Proud

Some recommended reading for your month of All Souls, Advent, or Ordinary-Time Bible study needs. Excellent intro to the prophets by Julie Davis.

Final verdict: This is a fantastic offering that fills a void in the Bible-study literature. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a readable, down-to-earth introduction to the prophets that is a balanced combination of Bible study and reflections for personal inspiration and spiritual growth.

This wonderful review of my book Thus Sayeth the Lord comes from Jennifer Fitz. It's lovely to have someone I respect so much give such a glowing recommendation. It makes me really proud! 

Do go read the whole thing! I'll leave you with a last bit that filled me with more pride.

What makes this book especially good: Julie writes the book from the perspective of a former atheist, of a faithful-but-normal Catholic, and as someone engaged for decades now in a constant two-way conversation with the wider culture. You can tell that she really understands how people struggle with the faith and what it’s like to be looking at Christianity and scratching your head and wondering if the Catholic faith has anything, at all, to offer somebody like you.

Her depth and breadth of experience shows on every page, and the end result is a book that is exquisitely suited to parish Bible study groups, where participants may vary from curious-non-believers to earnest disciples, all thrown together in one classroom to puzzle out what can be a very daunting topic.

 

Gospel of Matthew — Love's Last Appeal to Judas

 Matthew 26:20-25

Usually we look at the scene where Judas is leaving the last supper and think about betrayal, staying loyal, and so forth. This, however, looks at what we can learn from Jesus in this situation.

Judas Iscariot (right), retiring from the Last Supper  by Carl Bloch

And now we can see Jesus' methods with the sinner. He could have used his power to blast Judas, to paralyse him, to render him helpless, even to kill him. But the only weapon that Jesus will ever use is the weapon of love's appeal. One of the great mysteries of life is the respect that God has for the free will of man. God does not coerce; God only appeals.

When Jesus seeks to stop a man from sinning, he does two things.

First, he confronts him with his sin. He tries to make him stop and think what he is doing. He, as it were, says to him, "Look at what you are contemplating doing — can you really do a thing like that?" It has been said that our greatest security against sin lies in our being shocked by it. And again and again Jesus bids a man pause and look and realize so that he may be shocked into sanity.

Second, he confronts him with himself. He bids a man look at him, as if to say, "Can you look at me, can you meet my eyes, and go out to do the thing you purpose doing?" Jesus seeks to make a man become aware of the horror of the thing he is about to do and of the love which yearns to stop him doing it.

[...]

There is sin and sin. There is the sin of the passionate heart, of the man who, on the impulse of the moment, is swept into wrong doing. Let no man belittle such sin; its consequences can be very terrible. But far worse is the calculated, callous sin of deliberation, which in cold blood knows what it is doing, which is confronted with the bleak awfulness of the deed and with the love in the eyes of Jesus, and still takes its own way. Our hearts revolt against the son or daughter who cold-bloodedly breaks a parent's heart — which is what Judas did to Jesus — and the tragedy is that this is what we ourselves so often do.

Quote is from Daily Study Bible Series: Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2 by William Barclay. This series first ran in 2008. I'm refreshing it as I go.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #25 — Shower

It's been 10 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

Now we share one of Tom's favorite movies. Have you noticed that many of his favorites are gentle, charming, and humorous? Yep. But all individuals in their own way. This one is no different. 

This is the sweet, charming story of a son who returns home due to a misunderstanding. He has made a successful life for himself in another city while his father and brother have remained in business at the father's bath house. 

On one level the story is predictable, revealing the problems of the bath house regulars. As we expect, the returning brother has been somewhat estranged from his family and this, too, is resolved. For instance, I will never again hear "O Sole Mio" without thinking of this movie. 

However, on another level, there is complexity that was unexpected. This is provided by the brother who has remained at home and by the father's revelation of his past ... whereby we understand exactly why he loves running his bath house. Also quite enjoyable  are the glimpses of life in the father's corner of Beijing.

Autumn Leaves in Yokokan Garden

Autumn Leaves in Yokokan Garden, kskphoto via Find/47

 

Falling Leaves

 Olga Wisinger-Florian, Falling Leaves, 1899

A Movie You Might Have Missed #24 — Equilibrium

It's been 10 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

Come now to a future, after the Third World War, where a hidden leader named "The Father" has decreed that the answer is to remove emotions as they are the root of all violence and evil. Banishing emotions leads to banishing art, music, and books as well, but that is a small price to pay for peace. Or so this futuristic society believes as they take their daily doses of Prozium which sublimates feelings. 

Christian Bale is John Preston, a Clerick whose job it actually is to enforce the anti-emotion laws by rooting out and destroying the underground sense-offender resistance who luxuriate in things like perfume, silk, and symphonies. One day he accidentally misses his daily dose of Prozium and ... you guessed it ... discovers what he's been missing. 

In many ways, the story line is predictable but watching it unfold brings a fair number of surprises, the acting is good, and the faces are lovely (Christian Bale, Taye Diggs). As well, there is the inventive "Gun-Kata," martial art with weapons at a super-high speed which lends itself to a choreography which is simply amazing to see. This came out around the same time as The Matrix which may be why it has been overlooked by so many, but our family prefers this movie.

Gospel of Matthew - Self Protective Lovelessness

 Matthew 25:14-30

This is the famous parable of the master who, before going on a journey, gives varying numbers of talents to his servants, according to their abilities. Two servants use them profitably to increase on investment. One servant buries his in a field. Upon return the master praises the profitable servants and condemns the profitless servant as lazy, saying the he could at the very least have put his talent in the bank where it would have earned interest.

In a long ago Bible study, the priest pointed out that the good servants success in "small matters" are only given perspective in the great joy of the master.

"Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.

I love that the success even in small matters gives the master great joy.

Also, the lazy servant wasn't punished for trying and failing. He was punished for not even trying the bare minimum. You get the idea that possibly if he had tried and failed, the master might have been understanding. It is the lack of effort, not the failure to achieve, which is being condemned.

Ok, now let's turn to C.S. Lewis from his book The Four Loves. I already love this quote, but the C.S. Lewis Bible uses it for reflection on this parable.

The parable of the talents, depicted in a 1712 woodcut. The lazy servant searches for his buried talent, while the two other servants present their earnings to their master.

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.

I believe that the most lawless and inordinate loves are less contrary to God’s will than a self-invited and self-protective lovelessness. It is like hiding the talent in a napkin and for much the same reason. "I knew thee that thou wert a hard man." Christ did not teach and suffer that we might become, even in the natural loves, more careful of our own happiness. If a man is not uncalculating towards the earthly beloveds whom he has seen, he is none the more likely to be so towards God whom he has not. We shall draw nearer to God, not by trying to avoid the sufferings inherent in all loves, but by accepting them nd offering them toHim; throwing away all defensive armour. If our hearts need to be broken, and if He chooses this as the way in which they should break, so be it.

This series first ran in 2008. I'm refreshing it as I go.

More valuable than any treasure

If you were to find a gold coin, would you ask yourself, "Why has no one else found it?" Of course not. You would not hesitate to take it as your own. Likewise, whenever you find a brother in need, realize that you have found something more valuable than any treasure—the opportunity to care for another.

St. John Chrysostom
via In Conversation with God 4 by Francis Fernandez

Triplets Gassho-zukuri houses

Triplets Gassho-zukuri houses, Koichi Hayakawa via Find/47

 

Mating Season

 

Mating Season, Remo Savisaar

Good, evil, and a thing's usefulness

This is long but so worth it.

When this reason, which is so just and apt—namely, that the goodness of God should create good things—is carefully considered and devoutly weighed, it puts an end to all controversies on the part of those who inquire about the origin of the world. Certain heretics, however, have not been willing to accept this reason. In their view, there are too many things—such as fire, cold, wild beasts, and the like—which are unsuited to the needy and frail mortality of this flesh (which itself stems from just punishment), and which actually do it harm. These heretics do not notice how flourishing such things are in their rightful places and in their own natures, or with what ordered beauty they are arranged, or how much they contribute, each according to its own share of beauty, to the whole scheme of things, as if to the common well being of all, or how much they actually work to our own benefit, if only we make appropriate and intelligent use of them. Even poisons, which are fatal when used wrongly, are turned into healing medicines when properly employed; and, on the other hand, even things that give us delight, such as food and drink and sunlight, are seen to be harmful when immoderately or improperly used. In this way, divine providence warns us not to blame things without thought but rather to inquire diligently into their usefulness. And when our insight or our weakness fails us, whe should believe that teheir usefulness is simply obscure, as were various other things that we have barely been able to discover. The very fact that a thing's usefulness is hard to find, in fact, serves us either as an exercise in humility or as an antidote to pride. For there is no nature whatsoever that is evil; in fact, "evil" is nothing but a term for the privation of good.

St. Augustine, The City of God, book XI

Christianity's leaves, flowers, root, and fruit

The rules and rituals of Christianity are not its core, but its leaves. Joy, the kind of joy that none of life's contrarieties can diminish, as the lives of countless saints from every walk of life so powerfully attest to, is its flower. But its root is God's love, and its fruit is God's love lived out in the humdrum routine of daily life by the followers of Christ.

John Bartunek, The Better Part

The Hobbit Cover

The illustrations for The Hobbit were drawn by J.R.R. Tolkien himself. This cover shows his unique style and I simply love it.

Gospel of Matthew — Oil for Our Lamps

Matthew 25: 1-13

I like the point that the foolish virgins may not have done anything big to have empty lamps. Filling them with oil is just a little detail. But little details make a big difference, as we will see.

Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow, The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins

First an overview of how the foolish virgins relate to our own Christian lives.

The Holy Spirit is teaching us that it is not enough just to have started out on the path that leads to Christ; we have to remain on it, continually alert, because the natural tendency of every man and woman is to lower the level of self-giving that the Christian vocation requires. Little by little, almost without realizing it, the soul gives in to the tendency to make Christ's call compatible with a comfortable existence. We have to be eternally on our guard against the pressure of an environment whose guiding principle is the insatiable search for comfort and the easy way. If not, we will end up like those maidens. ...

In Conversation with God by Francis Fernandez, vol. 4

Sadly, I have to admit that sounds all too familiar to me. However, here are a few practical ways to think about this (and practice discipline).

On one level, it may not seem like a big deal to forget your oil—again. Or to show up to work ten minutes late every day. Or always to make time for watching TV but not enough time for prayer. The habits may be deeply ingrained, but every time we give in to them, we become a little more self-centered, and our ability to love God and the people around us diminishes. ...

What do you need to do to keep your flask filled with oil? Perhaps you could set your alarm a little earlier so that you are sure to have enough time to pray each morning. Maybe you could give up one night of television each week and offer to volunteer at church. The particulars may vary from person to person and day to day. But what’s important is finding a way to focus your life on God so that he can keep filling you with the “oil” of his love and grace. Because you never know when Jesus might show up!

Word Among Us, August 2020

Excerpts are from sources listed here. This series first ran in 2008. I'm refreshing it as I go.

Listen Up — Soundtrack Podcasts

I've lately come across several podcasts which celebrate  movie soundtracks. In one sense they're a lot alike. They all take in-depth looks at how the score serves the story, what makes it tick, and how the composer pulls it off in their own unique way. However, each has a different enough focus and hosts that I like them all. In each case I come away marveling at what the music was "saying" that I didn't know enough to hear. It's really fun.

I haven't listened to every episode on any of these podcasts but I've sampled plenty — certainly enough to want to share them with you.

 I found all these via iTunes but I'll include the website links for each.

 

This is the first soundtrack podcast I discovered. Listening to David Collins' polished yet enthusiastic two-part presentation about Jaws hooked me. And that's quite a feat, considering that I don't like the movie that much.  

He has a real love of John Williams and, in fact, I think he had an entire podcast devoted to him before this one. Luckily, he looks at movies scored by other composers too, although this podcast is heavily weighted toward Williams. Ranging from Morricone's music for spaghetti westerns to Casablanca to features about Max Steiner and Wagner as the first Lord of the Ring, there's a lot of variety to choose from. He does all this in terms that anyone can understand.

Episodes are usually half an hour although they occasionally run longer and there are often 3-4 part series of episodes about one movie. The Soundtrack Show website is here.

These three Australians (Andrew Pogson, Dan Golding and Nicholas Buc) crack me up. They are clearly good friends and just as clearly love music and movies. They know lots about the mechanics of music but when they go deep they manage to do it without making it mind-numbing, which is no small accomplishment. I also enjoy how often they find a piece of music  reflecting elements from other pieces in completely different films, which they'll then play for comparative listening. They'll review music form TV  (don't miss the Star Trek episode) and video games as well.

This is probably my favorite of these four podcasts. I find it hard to stop listening to these guys.

Episodes are usually 1-1/2 to 2 hours long with a fairly even mixture of single episodes and two-part series. The Art of the Score website is here.

 

Jon and Andy began their look at film scores by tackling the AFI's list of the 25 greatest film scores. They've since gone on to whatever catches their ear, ranging from new (Interstellar) to old (Spartacus).  I like the later shows better since at the beginning they tended to get a little bogged down in whether they liked the movie that went along with the AFI score.  Regardless, they have good chemistry and cover the music very interestingly.

They don't get too bogged down in what I call "music speak" which leaves the average non-music literate (like me) in the dark. They're also the only one of these podcasts that haven't geeked out over John Williams yet. Whether that is a good or bad thing, I leave to your judgment.

Films are covered in single episodes, just over an hour long. Settling the Score website is here.

 

Hosted by brothers Marty & Will Brueggemann, UnderScore is a podcast dedicated to celebrating the rich tradition of movie music one film at a time.

And when they say "rich tradition" that means these two are doing a very deep dive into every film. Each movie is covered in four episodes which cover, in turn, main theme, additional themes or songs, cues, and spotting (or commentary) of the full film. They also will discuss music very technically sometimes. I love their enthusiasm during those moments as each one's interest feeds the other's excitement. "I know! That chord structure would be ruined in thirds!" (Or something like that.) I just let it wash over me and, to be fair, they do explain what they are talking about. I'm just not as interested on a technical level, which is why I generally listen to the first two of each series. That said, those discussions are fascinating and I love the brothers' musical camaraderie. If you want a good sample, listen to their most recent episode about The Wizard of Oz. Really wonderful stuff.

Episodes usually run half an hour to an hour long. This podcast has been in hiatus since mid-2019 but there is plenty there to enjoy. The UnderScore website is here.

Meiji tunnel Shizuoka

Meiji tunnel Shizuoka, AsunoAkari via Find/47

 

The Tobolowsky Files are back

I've listened to this podcast almost from the beginning, way back in 2009. There haven't been any new episodes since 2017 though. Until today!

That's good news for everyone who knows just what a great storyteller Stephen Tobolowsky is. He's the character actor that you didn't know you knew. (Groundhog Day's Ned Ryerson, to mention just one great role.)

 From growing up in Dallas to attending SMU to breaking into the movie biz in LA, Stephen brings humor, humanity, and sometimes inspiration to his stories.

Get it at iTunes or his website.

Spoon

Spoon, Duane Keiser

I love using the reflection to show the artist.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #23 — Matchstick Men

It's been 10 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

Nicholas Cage is a con artist whose successful cons can't compensate for the fact that his numerous phobias leave him no way to have any personal life. Sam Rockwell is his partner and they are in the middle of pulling off a potentially lucrative scam when Cage discovers he has a teenage daughter who arrives unexpectedly to live with him. What then unfolds is a story of learning to parent interspersed with pulling off the con. The two stories become entangled which leads to increasing tension. 

You don't get much more of an anti-hero than Nicholas Cage's character in this role. As for style, granted it is that of the 60's more than today but that is more than compensated for by the sheer attraction of watching the con go on. More than anything, however, I was struck by the sheer potential for change and growth that Cage's character discovers. The end, which I won't reveal here, struck me as an extremely Catholic one.

Cajun Meatball Fricasse

I'd never heard of this dish but it is quite good and makes a nice change from the regular idea of meatballs derived from Italian or Swedish roots. Get it at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

History's Queen by Mike Aquilina

 

In History’s Queen, you’ll learn about the many ways Mary has left her mark on the great events of time, not only as we see them in the Bible, but also in pivotal events such as Fatima, the battle of Lepanto, and the plague. In this journey through two thousand years of Mary’s active participation in world events, each chapter of History’s Queen highlights a Marian intervention that is emblematic of a particular era, and opens our eyes to the ways in which Mary provides a vital key for understanding both our past and our future.

I have always enjoyed books which give us a glimpse of God working in history. In this book, Mike Aquilina takes us on a quick tour of the Virgin Mary leaving her marks on historical events. In so doing, he also gives beautifully lucid descriptions of historical context. I always came away with a fuller understanding of events than I had before, often linked to a better understanding of the effect it had on our times.

On the judgment day, the Koran says, God will ask Jesus whether he told the people to worship himself and Mary in addition to God, and Jesus will emphatically deny it. This verse suggests a Trinity consisting of the Father, the Son, and Mary. Many Christian commentators have said that the verse shows a profound ignorance of Christian doctrine. But it might be better to say that it shows a firsthand nowledge of Christian practice. Mohammed had not seen the Christianity of the theologians and apologists. He had seen the Christianity a merchant would see—the Christianity of common people on the edge of theChristian world. And for those common people, Mary was the route to the divine. She was everywhere. The mistake was easy to make. It is the mistake some evangelical Protestants still make today when they say that Catholics worship Mary.

This isn't just about Marian apparitions, although we are shown some of those. It also is about the times when Christians were inspired and informed by  aspects of Mary which affected behavior, art, and creativity in everything from public policy to everyday life. We are shown Byzantium and those who protected icons from being smashed, Irish missionaries to Europe and the Book of Kells, the rise of the great cathedrals and the Book of Hours, the plague and the Pieta, Luther and mass media, Guadalupe in Spain and Mexico, and more. In all cases, Mary is there to inspire Christians and care for them like a mother. Aquilina's skill in showing that through such diverse historical events not only informs but reassures. 

This is a message not only of history but also a reminder that as God has moved in the past, so he continues to do today—weaving salvation history with Mary as his willing servant.

Lady in a Red Hat

Lady with a Red Hat, Frank Duveneck, 1904
Dallas Museum of Art

This is another of those paintings which just can't be fully appreciated on screen. The way the artist captured backlighting with the light coming through the red feathers and casting red highlights on the lady's face is mesmerizing and unique.

Gospel of Matthew — The Transfiguration: Parallel to the Execution

Matthew 17:1-8

This parallel never occurred to me before. But what a world of meditation it opens up!

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

The transfiguration scene serves as "a twin of sorts" to the execution narrative in 27:32-54. Davies and Allison beautifully note the parallels. "In the one, a private epiphany, an exalted Jesus, with garments glistening, stands on a high mountain and is flanked by two religious giants from the past. All is light. In the other, a public spectacle, a humiliated Jesus, whose clothes have been torn from him and divided, is lifted upon a cross and flanked by two common, convicted criminals. All is darkness. We have here a pictorial antithetical parallelism, a dyptych in which the two plates have similar lines but different colors. The parallel scenes highlight the horror of Good Friday and the splendor of Jesus's love for us. It is no ordinary man that will be crucified on Calvary, but the beloved Son of God revealed in glory at the transfiguration. This same glorified Son will freely submit himself to utter humiliation in order to redeem the human family (see Phil 2:5-11).

Quote is from Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: Gospel of Matthew by Curtis Mitch and Edward Sri. This series first ran in 2008. I'm refreshing it as I go.

Pope Francis — Euthanasia and assisted suicide are always the wrong choice

To take one’s own life breaks one’s relationship with God and with others. “Assisted suicide aggravates the gravity of this act because it implicates another in one’s own despair,” it said.

The Christian response to these actions is to offer the help necessary for a person to shake off this despair, it emphasized, and not to indulge “in spurious condescension.”

“The commandment ‘do not kill’ ... is in fact a yes to life which God guarantees, and it ‘becomes a call to attentive love which protects and promotes the life of one’s neighbor,’” the letter said.

The 45 page document (Samaritanus bonus: on the Care of Persons in the Critical and Terminal Phases of Life) is all over the news. Probably the least biased place to read about it is at the Catholic News Agency which does a straight forward reporting job.

As CNA points out, this is a reaffirmation of classic Catholic teachings. In fact, looking around I found this Declaration on Euthanasia from 1980. However, the attention the new document is receiving means it was high time to spell things out again.

The reaffirmation came to mind strongly when I was reading this morning's commentary from In Conversation with God.

Whether we are dealing with children in the womb, old people, accident victims, the physically or mentally ill, we are always dealing with our fellow human beings whose credentials of nobility are to be found on the very first page of the Bible: "God created man in his own image" (Gen. 1:27). On the other hand, it has often been said that it is possible to judge a civilization by the way it deals with the defenseless, with children, with the sick, etcetera. Wherever you have a sick person, there has to be a supremely human environment where each one is treated with dignity. One experiences in such circumstances the closeness of brothers and friends.

Paul VI, Address, 24 May 1974, italicized

Great White Egret

Great White Egret, Remo Savisaar

 

A Movie You Might Have Missed #22 — Radio Days

It's been 10 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

 

Before the internet, video games, and television, there was radio which captivated its audience just as thoroughly as modern storytelling venues do today. 

This movie is Woody Allen's love letter to the medium he grew up with. He narrates as we watch a young boy's view of his ordinary family and the way that different radio shows influenced their lives. Several generations of his family live in their New York house during World War II and the always-playing radio provides the backdrop to the small daily dramas that make up their lives. The stories go from humorous to dramatic as we see the family stories interspersed with those of the radio stars of the day and Sally the cigarette girl who is struggling to begin a radio career. 

At the heart is a love of family that shines through all the everyday ordinary scenarios and the nostalgic look at the past. Thoroughly captivating and a movie I have watched countless times.

What we can learn from Ginsburg’s friendship with Antonin Scalia

 Eugene Scalia considers Ruth Bader Ginsburg's legendary friendship with someone who was her ideological opposite, his father Antonin Scalia.

It’s often remarked today that if our government leaders spent more time together, they would come to like and respect one another, be more civil, and achieve consensus, harmony and wondrous legislation.

Don’t draw that lesson from Ginsburg-Scalia. ...

What we can learn from the justices, though — beyond how to be a friend — is how to welcome debate and differences. The two justices had central roles in addressing some of the most divisive issues of the day, including cases on abortion, same-sex marriage and who would be president. Not for a moment did one think the other should be condemned or ostracized. More than that, they believed that what they were doing — arriving at their own opinions thoughtfully and advancing them vigorously — was essential to the national good. With less debate, their friendship would have been diminished, and so, they believed, would our democracy.

Read the whole thing at The Washington Post.

A Unique and Inexhaustible Book

There is a unique and inexhaustible book in which all there is to say about God and man is said. God's presence pervades it and in it are revealed all those aspects of His mysterious being that we are allowed to glimpse; in it He appears, He speaks, and He acts. Man can also see himself in it, in all his potentialities, his grandeur and his weakness, from his sublimest aspirations down to those obscure regions of consciousness in which each of us bleeds from the wound of Original Sin. It embodies above all a religious doctrine, the doctrine of the revealed truth; but human knowledge and intellectual activity also find in it right and never-failing nourishment. It is as vain to claim to understand the principles of ethics and law as of sociology, economics, and even politics if we are unaware of the message contained in this book.

Henri Daniel-Rops, What is the Bible?

Dorothy

Dorothy, John Singer Sargeant
Dallas Museum of Art

I love Sargeant's portraits anyway, but this little lady's expression just wins me over every time. She brims with personality.

Crunchy Onion Burger

Simple, delicious, and even my mom who doesn't like hamburgers (which is still hard for me to fathom) liked them. Get your Crunchy Onion Burger at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Jodhaa Akbar

An epic romance, set in 16th-century India, about the love story between Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar, the Mughal Emperor of Hindustan, and Rajput princess Jodhaa. In order to extend his empire, Akbar agrees to a marriage of alliance to young and fiery Jodhaa but soon realizes he has to defend his choice of bride as his courtiers voice their displeasure at the idea of their Muslim Emperor marrying a Hindu.

The first time we watched this we found the first part really disorienting. I assume that if you are Indian you know a lot about the factions we were being introduced to and the basic history being told — which we had no clue about. Also, as Bollywood newbies, we had a really tough time keeping track of the many warriors and kings, especially since they all were in historical garb. However, the film did a good job bringing us up to speed, the romance was compelling, and by the time they got to proclaiming the emperor Akbar, we were on board all the way. 

A second viewing, almost two years and 150 Indian movies later, made us really able to appreciate it properly. We could even keep track of all those confusing warriors and kings! Also, with the basic story knowledge from our first viewing meant that we could properly appreciate the performances. 

When they say "epic romance" they aren't kidding. By the time that the emperor and Jodhaa declare their love and he puts his hands on her shoulders (yes, they move slowly in a traditional movie like this), you'd been brought to a state of high tension over that ultimate forehead kiss and neck nuzzle. It doesn't hurt that they are the hottest emperor and empress ever. 

This is something on a scale that Cecil B. DeMille would have loved. Lavish is an understatement for the jewelry and costumes and settings. The battles are grand in every sense of the word. It is a feast for the eyes.

The first time around we thought that the movie must have been modernized because Akbar's religious views were so tolerant. We were impressed when we looked up his history and saw that he was indeed a most unusual ruler for his time. Interestingly, on vacation in Charleston talking over movies with some Indian tourists, we brought up Jodhaa Akbar, asking if the great Akbar was as portrayed. He obviously is a national hero because they instantly began praising him with great animation and enthusiasm. It was really impressive and makes the movie even more fun to watch.

NOTE: medium to difficult Bollywood viewing. Just let it flow over you without worrying too much about the politics and you'll enjoy it.

Scott and Julie discuss Jodhaa Akbar at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

Hannah and Rose discuss Jodhaa Akbar at An American's Guide to Bollywood.

The Icebergs

The Icebergs, Frederic Edwin Church
Dallas Museum of Art

Nothing can replace sitting in front of this painting and taking it all in. The tints and coloring are impossible to adequately convey on a screen.

I love the story that this was bought by a private collector and kept out of public view for over a hundred years. When it came back into public sight for auction, it raised the most ever given for an American painting. The anonymous buyers donated it to the Dallas Museum of Art. After Lamar Hunt's death, he and his wife were revealed as the generous donors.

The study of history is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance.

The study of history is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance. It is humbling to discover how many of our glib assumptions, which seem to us novel and plausible, have been tested before, not once but many times and in innumerable guises; and discovered to be, at great human cost, wholly false.

Paul Johnson, The Recovery of Freedom (1980)

Making pain meaningful

Obedience makes our actions and sufferings meritorious in such a way that, no matter how pointless they may seem, they in fact can be extremely fruitful. One of the wonderful things Our Lord has done is to have made the most useless things, like pain, meaningful; by his obedience and his love He has made it glorious.

R. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life

Time and Tide

Time and Tide, 1873, Dallas Museum of Art
Alfred Thompson Bricher

I just love this painting. I could stand in front of it all day.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #21 — Shaun of the Dead

It's been 10 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

Shaun and his best friend are a couple of slackers. A good evening is one that ends at the pub and every evening ends at the pub. Shaun's girlfriend is less than pleased with this lack of initiative, especially after celebrating their third anniversary ... at the pub. She breaks up with Shaun who is so distraught that he doesn't notice all there is a zombie epidemic all around them. This leads to some hilarious scenes, such as when Shaun and his friend first encounter zombies and think they are drunks. Shaun takes the lead in rescuing his mum and ex-girlfriend to take them to the safest place he can think of ... the pub. This truly is a romantic comedy with the original twist being the zombies.

I was anxious to see this from the first moment I heard the premise, yet put it off for fear of the "R" rating (for zombie violence ... yes, that's actually what it says). There is plenty of warning for any such scenes and much of it is so fake that it doesn't matter. The directors are really good at combining our awareness that this is a zombie movie with Shaun's general cluelessness to provide many very funny jump scenes as well.

Why Coming Back to Mass Matters

What probably surprises most contemporary readers of the book of Exodus is that, immediately following the laying out of the moral commandments, the author spends practically the rest of the text, chapters 25 through 40, delineating the liturgical prescriptions that the people are to follow. ...

No indication whatsoever is given that the moral prescriptions are somehow more important than the liturgical prescriptions. If anything, the contrary seems to be the case, since Exodus is followed immediately by the book of Leviticus, which consists of twenty-eight chapters of dietary and liturgical law. ... God doesn’t need the ark and the tabernacle and priestly vestments and regular worship, but we do. Through the gestures and symbols of its liturgical praise, Israel is brought on line with God, ordered to him. The moral law directs our wills to the divine goodness, but the liturgical law directs our minds, our hearts, our emotions, and yes even our bodies to the divine splendor.

This is a great piece from Bishop Barron which uses Exodus to remind us that following moral law matters but just as important is learning holiness through the liturgy. Thanks to Patsy for bringing it to my attention. I loved it.

Gospel of Matthew — Transfiguration: The Cloud

Matthew 17:1-8

This is one of the biggies in the gospels and so much has been said about it. I always found that cloud mysterious until I was reminded that the shechinah, the glory of God shows up prominently in Exodus. In a pillar leading the people, covering the mountaintop when Moses visits, etc.

And here is the cloud of God's presence again. Of course.

Transfiguration, Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov

Peter, James, and John did not see any ordinary cloud atop the mountain of transfiguration. They saw the cloud of God's Presence. In the Old Testament God's presence was made manifest to Israel in the form of a thick and luminous cloud. God guided the Israelites through the desert in a pillar of cloud (Exod 13:21-22). At Sinai the cloud of God's glory overshadowed the mountain when Moses received the Ten Commandments (Exod 24:15-18). Later the cloud filled the tabernacle (Exod 40:34). It also filled the temple in Jerusalem at its dedication by Solomon (1 Kings 8:11). However, in the sixth century BC, the prophet Ezekiel received a vision of God's glory cloud leaving the temple and Jerusalem because of the people's sinfulness (Ezek 10). Since that time, god's presence had not been visibly manifest to Israel But the prophets envisioned the return of this cloud to God's people in the eschatalogical age (2 Macc 2:8, Isa 4:5, Eze 43:1-5). Peter, James, and John witnessed the fulfillment of these prophetic hopes when the "bright cloud cast a shadow over them" on the mountain of transfiguration.

Quote is from Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: Gospel of Matthew by Curtis Mitch and Edward Sri. This series first ran in 2008. I'm refreshing it as I go.

Workers, Flowers and the Virgin of San Juan

The Workers, Alfredo Ramos Martinez
Dallas Museum of Art

Continuing last week's Dallas Museum of Art post, we then wandered into an exhibit of Alfredo Ramos Martinez. His style isn't one I'd normally be drawn to, but after just having been immersed in Latin American art, we were primed to take a closer look. I particularly was intrigued by his paintings done on newspaper. All those stripes? Yes. Creative use of newsprint lines in the newspaper. It was really fascinating. Tom especially liked the use of black outline to give a three dimensional aspect to the elements.

Not all his work was like that, of course. I was struck by his floral paintings. These were on loan so we were lucky to see them.

Blue Jar with Flowers, Santa Barbara Museum of Art

La Virgen de San Juan, Santa Barbara Museum

And the Latin American theme continued when we went to lunch afterwards at the San Martin Cafe and Bakery on McKinney Street. It is a Guatemalan restaurant and very trendy, as it turns out. The service and food were excellent. Rose discovered it and she and Mom love going there.

They also had art displayed high up on several walls and the textile art was another link in the chain to the art we'd seen at the DMA. Some it put us in mind of a collection of huipils for putting on statues of the Virgin Mary.

Huipil for a figure of the Virgin of the Rosary, Maya -- Kaqchikel, c. 1905–1925
Dallas Museum of Art

I'll be featuring other paintings soon. No themes, just the stuff that I like a lot.

A drowning man prayed for help. God sent a floating tiki bar filled with priests.

Despite the rough waters, he still thought he could make it back to shore, and so he waved on several boats that had stopped to offer help.


But when his kayak tipped and his hastily-donned lifejacket came up to his ears, Macdonald knew he was in real trouble.

“I thought I was going to die. I was absolutely powerless and wished I had asked for help earlier. I was waving my hand and asked God to please help me,” he said.

God answered his prayers - but not in the form of Jesus walking on water.

“And then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the tiki boat.”

A tiki boat full of priests.

From Catholic News Agency comes the real life story that reads like God took the old joke about the man trying to escape the flood and gave it a modern twist.

With an inspiring and ironic twist at the end. Just the way God likes to play it. Go read the whole thing.

Lime Crinkle Cookies

These are from Taste of the South magazine which we've found to be a great source for simple, tasty recipes. Rose says these remind her of Fruit Loops. They are just plain good. Get them at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Find yourself a cup of tea ...

Find yourself a cup of tea; the teapot is behind you. Now tell me about hundreds of things.

Saki

Hummingbirds, Armadillos, and Fish - Oh My!

Hummingbird pendant, Olmec, 800–400 BC
Dallas Museum of Art

To our delight, we discovered that the Dallas Museum of Art is open again and immediately reserved tickets for the next available time — which was last Sunday.

There's never been a better time to see the art, what with limited numbers admitted for social distancing.

We headed up the stairs near the entrance and found ourselves in a spot we'd never come across — Arts of the Americas. This wound up being ancient art from South America, Central America, and Mexico. There were even a few things from North America, but not many.

We found it surprisingly absorbing, especially when I came across several hummingbird depictions that were thousands of years old. I look at the fierce little hummer who is keeping all the others away from our nectar and love the idea that he's the latest in a migration that has been going on so long.

And there was another familiar figure.

Armadillo ornament, Veraguas, 800–1200 AD
Dallas Museum of Art

And, of course, ear ornaments so large that I'd rather wear one as a necklace.

Ear ornament, Zenú (Sinú), 600–1200 AD
Dallas Museum of Art

There also were large, elaborate panels from buildings and a lot of things that only really impress if you see them in person. We realized that a lot of the oldest pieces were contemporaneous with ancient Egypt and that helped put the art in perspective too.

This bit of the visit began our theme day, though we didn't realize it at the time. More on that later ...

Tenet

A secret agent embarks on a dangerous, time-bending mission to prevent the start of World War III.

It seems clear that Christopher Nolan's got James Bond and Mission Impossible on the mind. His latest action thriller clearly pulls from those franchises as we follow his protagonist forwards and backwards in time and around the world on his dangerous mission.

I was excited about going to this movie because (a) Christopher Nolan, (b) back to a more normal life, (c) support the theater/movie industry. Unfortunately it wound up being another 2020 disappointment.

It pains me to admit this is not a great film. The performances are top notch. The action sequences are good, especially ones with the airplane and highway heist. However, this was offset by a very difficult sci-fi concept that wasn't explained well enough and was really hard to understand visually even once I did have a fairly firm grasp of the idea. (I felt like telling Nolan to rewatch Inception for "how to do it").

Also, the plot itself was confusing and with very little cohesive story itself, other than finding the MacGuffin. Alfred Hitchcock made many wonderful movies with nothing more than that pushing the plot but he always gave us something to care about in the character's life or situation. James Bond and Mission Impossible movies give us fairly little personal motivation but they are always very clear in explaining the villain's evil plan and what the heck is going on.

Nolan gives us nothing more than "the cleverness of me." It felt as if he was so enchanted by his sci-fi concept that it was all he could focus on. And guess what — that wasn't enough for me. Or my viewing companions.

Most egregious was that the sound mixing made a lot of the dialogue incomprehensible. When you've got a really hard concept to get across it is always so much easier if the audience can the dialogue at all. Or even if all you want to do is to help them understand why you are flinging yourself around the world for dangerous missions.

There is a wonderful exchange in Christopher Nolan’s latest film, Tenet, between Robert Pattinson and John David Washington. “Hngmmhmmh,” says Pattinson. “Mmghh nmmhhmmmm nghhh,” replies Washington. Marvellous.

This is how much of Tenet sounded to viewers in cinemas. The film’s dialogue has been criticised by reviewers and audience members for often being impossible to make out. Given how hard Nolan’s blockbuster would be to understand even if all the dialogue was crystal-clear, it is curious that the director has made it doubly difficult to hear the story of a screenplay he supposedly spent five years writing.

The Guardian

I'd think the one thing you don't want the people leaving your movie to talk about for five minutes is how none of them could understand the dialogue. But sound mixing was our topic all the way to the parking lot.

On the bright side, the movie theater was bending over backwards to welcome everyone back, although there were only a few other people at our Saturday matinee. Of course, it was showing in at least 10 other theaters in the same complex so maybe everyone was spread out.

Walking by the Lord's house

I often ask children to imagine walking by the house of the Holy Family in Nazareth. Children who love the Lord might remember that Jesus lives there, and make a gesture of reverence, or say a short prayer. But if we walked by the Lord’s house, and he was out on the porch, and we could look directly at him, we would stop, and talk to him, and know that he was hearing us, and talking to us. So it is with adoring Christ in the Eucharist, visible to us in the monstrance. We see him, and we know that he sees us. We speak to him, and we know that he hears us. When we adore Christ in the Eucharist, exposed in the monstrance, the Lord engages all of our senses, through the ministry of the Church, to awaken us to the power of encountering him—love made visible.

Pope St. John Paul II wrote that through adoration of the Eucharist, “we can say not only that each of us receives Christ, but also that Christ receives each of us. He enters into friendship with us: ‘You are my friends.’”

In friendship, in the dialogue of Eucharistic adoration, God transforms us, so that, in love, we can make gifts of our ourselves to the world, just as Christ has made a gift of himself in the Eucharist.

Bishop James Conley, Holy Thursday Letter, 2017

via A Year with the Eucharist, Paul Jerome Keller

It isn't only children who need these sorts of prompts. I love the mental image of seeing Jesus on his porch and stopping for a chat.

But oh! the blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can speak fearlessly on any subject

Thus ended our little talk: yet it left a pleasant impression. True, the subject was strange enough; my sisters might have been shocked at it; and at my freedom in asking and giving opinions. But oh! the blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can speak fearlessly on any subject; with whom one's deepest as well as one's most foolish thoughts come out simply and safely. Oh, the comfort—the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person—having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.

Somebody must have done a good deal of the winnowing business this afternoon; for in the course of it I gave him as much nonsense as any reasonable man could stand ...

Dinah Maria (Mulock) Craik, A Life for a Life

Often misattributed to George Eliot. You may find out more about that and the book which this quote is from here.

We need the humanity of Christ.

We need the humanity of Christ. In the many wearinesses of life which come to all, it is not only permissible but often necessary to direct our devotion to the sacred human in the Eucharist. God gave us the sacred humanity of His Son because in his divine wisdom He understood man's need of a God-man. ... We who are so dependent on the sense in order to grasp something of the nonsensible, can understand Christ because He "was made flesh and dwelt among us." We feel that having walked in the flesh, Christ knows both from the experience of many and the omniscience of God all the miseries to which our mortal flesh is heir.

We need the human Christ ... in our sacramental devotion to Him. The humanity of Christ, perhaps more than we realize, serves as the lodestone that brings the suffering and weary and sinful to the Eucharistic God. ...

A Year with the Eucharist, Paul Jerome Keller

quoted - True Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament

A Movie You Might Have Missed #20 — The Dish

It's been 10 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

This is a favorite of Tom's and the combination of gentle humor with realism is a winning combination.

In  1969, viewing the Apollo moon landing depends on a satellite dish in  Australia that is smack dab in the middle of a sheep pasture. Along with  everything else, the local technicians must deal with their natural  annoyance at having a NASA man foisted upon them to make sure everything goes ok while the locals feel understandable pride at being in the  center of an international spotlight.

Based on a true story, The Dish brims with understated wit that shows the differing cultural attitudes  between Australia and the U.S. while taking us back to the true wonder  of what it meant to watch a man walk upon the moon.

Pavonia

Pavonia (1859). Lord Frederic Leighton (English, 1830-1896).

Isn't she stunning? I could look at this all day.

Summer Corn Salad

a good, different summer salad that it isn't too late to make for Labor Day! Get it at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

A less than perfect democracy that is still a great success story

We must remember that America is still a great success story. When we criticize—as criticize we must—we should play the part of what James Madison called a "loving critic." Former Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan put it best: "Am I embarrassed to speak for a less than perfect democracy? Not one bit. Find me a better one. Do Is suppose there are societies that are free of sin? No, I don't. Do I think ours is on balance incomparably the most hopeful set of human relations the world has? Yes, I do. Have we done obscene things? Yes we have. How did our people learn about them? They learned about them on television and in the newspapers.

William J. Bennett, America: The Last Best Hope (Vol. I)

Max

Max
by the brilliant Edward B. Gordon

Blogging Around: Andy Serkis Reads The Hobbit, Gregory the Great, Chinese Persecution of Muslims, Black Leaders Blast Planned Parenthood

ANDY SERKIS READS THE HOBBIT
Later this month Andy Serkis (aka Gollum in the Lord of the Ring movies) has an audiobook recording of The Hobbit coming out. Needless to say I am thrilled. The Rob Inglis reading was never a favorite of mine and listening to Serkis's sample shows how good his narration is.

You can hear it a bit of Riddles in the Dark at YouTube.

GREGORY THE GREAT AND THE GHOST
Via Weird Catholic comes this great story from Pope St. Gregory the Great’s The Dialogues:

Source

"[A] priest used to bathe in the hot springs of Tauriana whenever his health required. One day, as he entered the baths, he found a stranger there who showed himself most helpful in every way possible, by unlatching his shoes, taking care of his clothes, and furnishing him towels after the hot bath.

"After several experiences of this kind, to priest said the himself: ‘It would not do for me to appear ungrateful to this man who is so devoted in his kind services to me. I must reward him in some way.’ So one day he took along two crown-shaped loaves of bread to give him.

"When he arrived at the place, the man was already waiting for him and rendered the same services he had before. After the bath, when the priest was again fully dressed and ready to leave, he offered the man the present of bread, asking him kindly to accept it as a blessing, for it was offered a token of charity.

But the man sighed mournfully and said, ‘Why do you give it to me, Father? That bread is holy and I cannot eat it. I who stand before you was once the owner of this place. It is because of my sins that I was sent back here as a servant. If you wish to do something for me, then offer this bread to almighty God, and so make intercession for me, a sinner. When you come back and do not find me here, you will know that your prayers have been heard.’

"With these words he disappeared, thus showing that he was a spirit disguised as a man. The priest spent the entire week in prayer and tearful supplications, offering Mass for him daily. When he returned to the bath, the man was no longer to be found. This incident points out the great benefits souls derive from the Sacrifice of the Mass. Because of these benefits the dead ask us, the living, to have Masses offered for them, and even show us by signs that it was through the Mass that they were pardoned."

CHINA'S GENOCIDE OF ITS UIGHUR MUSLIMS

In the most extensive investigation of China’s internment camp system ever done using publicly available satellite images, coupled with dozens of interviews with former detainees, BuzzFeed News identified more than 260 structures built since 2017 and bearing the hallmarks of fortified detention compounds. There is at least one in nearly every county in the far-west region of Xinjiang. During that time, the investigation shows, China has established a sprawling system to detain and incarcerate hundreds of thousands of Uighurs, Kazakhs, and other Muslim minorities, in what is already the largest-scale detention of ethnic and religious minorities since World War II.

GetReligion has a wonderful guide to BuzzFeed's story. Every time we think China's not that Communist, remember this type of thing is going on all the time. Hong Kong is nothing new, just more public than a lot of the hijinks China has going on.

BLACK LEADERS BLAST "SYSTEMIC RACISM" OF ABORTION IN LETTER TO PLANNED PARENTHOOD

A coalition of Black leaders is calling out Planned Parenthood for “targeting” Black communities for abortions while professing to support the Black Lives Matter movement.

[...]

“This effort demonstrates the outrage among the Black community that we have been strategically and consistently targeted by the abortion industry ever since the practice was legalized almost 50 years ago,” said Human Coalition Action executive director Rev. Dean Nelson, whose organization coordinated the letter.

The letter noted that 36% of abortions in the U.S. are performed on Black women, who represent only 13% of the country’s female population.

“Black women are five times more likely than white women to receive an abortion,” the letter stated. “In some cities, like New York, more Black children are aborted every year than are born alive.”

“This is no accident,” the letter stated, noting that “79 percent of Planned Parenthood’s surgical abortion facilities are located in or near communities of color.”

About time. Read more at CNA.

The Bridge at Argenteuil

Claude Monet, The Bridge at Argenteuil, 1874

It is so glorious looking. I want to go to there.