John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father by Peggy Noonan - UPDATED

I'm rereading this book which has inadvertently turned into Advent reading. I'd forgotten just how good it is — inspirational, informative, and, above all, a wonderful reminder of a great pope and saint. I originally read it in 2006. My original review is below. 

(I have added an update upon my rereading which is in italics at the bottom.)

Why did so many love John Paul II? If you read this book you will know why. 

Peggy Noonan writes with conviction, force and clarity about her own love and respect for John Paul II as our spiritual father. In so doing, she gives us the essence of this great pope's life and faith as distilled through the lens of her own growing return to her Catholic faith and love of God.

I only really paid attention to him after I converted in 2000 so my own experience with JPII was of him as the old pope who showed us how to live, love, and give through suffering. In fact, I was aware of respecting him but didn't realize my own great love until I read the false report of his death (a day before the actual event) on the Drudge Report. I mystified myself by bursting into great, body-shaking sobs that wouldn't stop. When I went into Tom's office, he was alarmed and, after hearing an explanation, he shook his head at me. "You love him," he said, "You just didn't know how much until now." 

 Perhaps that is why I am finding myself pulled through this book at breakneck speed. I knew the bare bones of many of John Paul's experiences as pope but this book is something like a Weigel-lite (?) biography in some ways. I am learning much about the details of his papacy even as I am brought to tears or smiles again and again by both his experiences as well as Noonan's.

I picked up this book from the library yesterday and am about halfway through. Already, I have begun to push it on others. An email here, a strong recommendation to someone there (such as to my husband who never reads "religious" books but is interested in this one).

Part of the fascination for me is Noonan's transparent honesty. She is, in a sense, every modern person who has struggled with belief, honesty, and faith itself. As she intersperses her tale with that of John Paul II, I find myself in agreement with her along the way. Her path is not exactly mine but her sentiments and struggles echo them well enough to resonate. And the resonation already is calling me to reach further in prayer...

So I was thinking about pebbles — the pebbles on the cover of the videotape, the pebbles in the Kevin Orlin Johnson book, the pebbles I saw on Jones Beach when I went out that summer to see friends.

I thought a lot.

I just didn't say any Rosaries.

I find this to be true of my spiritual life, and maybe it applies to yours as well: I think about things more than I do them; I ponder what seems their goodness more than I perform them. As if my thought alone were enough. But a thought alone isn't quite enough; it's an impulse and not a commitment, a passing thing that doesn't take root unless you plant it and make it grow.

So I just thought about all this. And was very glad other people were saying Rosaries, and when I met them, I always asked that they pray for me.

Meanwhile, the problems I was having were growing more urgent. And I would talk to God about them. But I didn't say the Rosary.

And then I believe I was told to do it.

How was she told? Well, for that I encourage you to read the book (I'm not above dangling a tasty carrot). The problem Noonan details is a problem I have myself. It is so easy to think about something rather than to do it. However, through this passage (and the miracle that follows) John Paul II is reaching me through this book and calling me back to the rosary which I began saying again this morning on my way to work. It was once a steady habit, but fallen by the wayside somehow as things sometimes do.

Perhaps it also helps that Noonan was heavily influenced by Kevin Orlin Johnson's book Rosary, which also pulled me into the rosary soon after my conversion. I have never known anyone else who read it and so that helped get my attention. (Off topic is a question I always have meant to ask: does anyone else have this book and, if so, does their book smell of roses? I assume they somehow put the scent in the paper which is a nice touch but always wondered as I never could find any reference to it in the book credits.) [Update - it turns out no one else has had this experience except my family.]

Noonan also references others who have perspective and personal experiences such as George Wiegel, Michael Novak, Richard Neuhaus, and even actor Jim Caviezel who portrayed Jesus in The Passion of the Christ. The snippets that she quotes have made me interested in reading more indepth about John Paul II.

Go find this book and read it now!

UPDATE (part of the original review)

I have now finished the book and it holds up right through the end. To her credit, Noonan does not skirt the places where John Paul II was not perfect and which contributed to such problems in the American church as a "cardboard" Mass or the sex scandals. She examines the problems and the various degrees of blame which could be attributed to the areas where John Paul's lacked in leadership. I found especially interesting her theory of why the pope was so deficient in handling the sex scandal problem. It was a theory that I hadn't heard and one that some may say is too kind, however, I think it possibly is quite right.

However, this does not diminish his great overall achievements both for Noonan (and many, many others personally) and for the Church as a whole. The book ends on a note of JPII's legacy to Benedict XVI. I will leave it to you to see Noonan's nickname for Pope Benedict which I hadn't heard before but is so apt that I laughed with delight when I read it. Again, this book cannot be more highly recommended.

REREADING UPDATE

In the chapter "The Great Shame" where Noonan talks about John Paul's failings, in particular the sex scandal, she recounts being asked to speak at a meeting of Catholic conservatives held by Cardinal McCarrick and Bishop Gregory. Over a decade after the original meeting, with the knowledge of Cardinal McCarrick's true nature and behavior now revealed, it was chilling to read about his reassuring nods and kind smiles to some of her most heartfelt points about the victims and the Church. More than anything it reminded me of how well he masqueraded, as good predators do, as an understanding, caring person who is to be trusted.

Psalm 2: The Lord's Annointed King

When finding fault with the conspiracy ... against the Savior you have Psalm 2 ... which accuses the impious and those who act contrary to law.

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms 14, 15

Psalm 2 is interesting because there are three ways to look at it. The first is as a secondary introduction to the psalms since it has no heading or author listed, as all other psalms do, except Psalm 1. It is of a category called the royal psalms which are concerned with the kinds of Judah who felt they were authorized and empowered as God's adopted sons, his representatives on Earth as it were. Finally, after the Babylonian exile, these psalms were viewed as promises of messianic hope and expectation. What the human kings couldn't do, God would do through the Messiah, his "Anointed One."

That's a lot to lay on a liturgical song, but then again, the Bible is the place where you find layer upon layer. Let's throw in another layer — what is the Holy Spirit saying to us today using Psalm 2?

Gerard van Honthorst,
King David Playing the Harp, 1622

Remember that at the time this text was written, we "Johnny-come-lately" Christians were the nations—outside the people of God, seeking to make our own way in the world. ...

We must still count ourselves on the side of the nations when we take up their banner of "freedom" from God's rule. Even Israel—the people of God‚ could think of God's bonds as restrictive chains and seek to throw them off. ... whenever we buy into the world's way of placing self and satisfaction before all else, we become the nations once again. ...

Whenever we read this psalm, we must be careful not to reduce it to a mere messianic prediction of the ultimate submission of the unbelieving nations to the authority of God's rule and kingdom. It is that, but it remains much more than that. ... it should remain for us who name the name of Jesus a powerful caution to lay down daily our own banners of personal freedom and self-satisfaction in order to "kiss the Son." When we do so, we avoid the path of destruction that Psalm 1 warns against, and we also discover that the imagined fetters and chains are instead the "cords of human kindness" and the "ties of love" with which God leads us into "the glorious freedom of the children of God" (Rom. 8:21).

Psalms Volume 1 (The NIV Application Commentary)

Sources are here and an index of psalm posts is here. 

A Movie You Might Have Missed #30 — The Mill and the Cross

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 film is a luminous masterpiece that is an art movie in every sense of the word. 

Painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder (Rutger Hauer) explains the meaning of his painting, The Procession to Calvary,  to his patron (Michael York) from within the painting itself. That is the description from the back of the DVD case which gripped my imagination and made me take it home. We were not disappointed. As Roger Ebert said, "If you see no more than the opening shots, you will never forget them."

This is an art movie in every sense of the word. Dialogue is spare, the pace is deliberate, and sometimes it can be difficult to tell where real life ends and the painting begins. Those elements contribute to this movie's power, as we are introduced to a dozen of the over 500 characters in the painting in an extraordinary blend of live action and special effects. As the artist imagines them coming to life with a new morning, we follow the characters to their eventual inclusion within the art. With careful scene framing and lighting as luminous as that of any painting, we truly felt as if we were within a painting.

Most of what I have said would not actually tempt me to watch the film. It must be experienced and is very difficult to describe. It came to my attention after being recommended as a contemplative piece during Lent by Joseph Sousanka, but I think this film stands on its own as a unique piece of art which anyone may appreciate. It certainly should fascinate anyone interested in the making or appreciation of either art or films.

A looking deeper hint — pay attention to how many times you see bread, whether being carried, eaten, or made. And then think of the Mill of God and the Cross of Christ, with all that implies for Catholics.

You will either love it or hate it, but you will not forget it. (And then you'll go to a museum.)

Pieter Bruegel's The Way to Calvary
via Wikipedia

Calories and morals

Calories are not the same as morals. No food can be either "naughty" or "virtuous." It's all just food.

Bee Wilson, First Bite

Wild Turkey

Plate 1 of The Birds of America by John James Audubon,
depicting a wild turkey

 

Psalm 1 — The Blessed and the Wicked

If you wish to declare someone blessed you learn how to do so and whom to call upon and the words to say in Psalm 1.  

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms 15

I won't put the whole psalm every time, but for our first look, let's  have the whole thing. 

Keep in mind that this psalm is meant as a foundation to understanding the entire book of psalms. That was a new idea for me — the psalms were put by editors into specific order. Well, it seems obvious when you say it, but I've always just thought of them as a general collection. 

Let's begin!

¹ Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
² but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.
³ He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water,
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

⁴ The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff which the wind drives away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
⁶ for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

I always love any reference to the tree planted by streams of water, which pops up in various places in the Old Testament. It is a favorite image. Here there's a little extra interest because it is contrasted with the chaff later on. Of course, if a plant doesn't have enough water, what happens? It withers and eventually will disintegrate and blow away. If hard times come and you don't have deep roots in the water, that is your fate. If you aren't rooted in the solid worship and word of God that's what happens. 

 Let's get a bit of insight from some wise men who have meditated upon these words over time.

Hebrew text of Psalm 1:1-2

1:1a Blessed Is the Man

Foundational for the Book of Psalms, Basil the Great: Like the foundation in a house, the keel in a ship and the heart in a body, so is (Psalm 1 as a) brief introduction to the whole structure of the Psalms. For when David intended to purpose in the course of his speech to the combatants of true religion many painful tasks involving unmeasured sweats and toils, he showed first the happy end, that in the hope of the blessings reserve for us we might endure witout grief the sufferings of this life. Homilies on the Psalms 10.3

==========

The Crown to Be Conferred, Ambrose: What a delightfully apt beginning! Those who wish for a grand display and a great celebration to add glory to the games generally promise a prize. They make much of the honor of the crown to be conferred. All this is to make the contestants more eager to take part and to strain every nerve in order to win. This is what our Lord Jesus does. He promises us the glory of a heavenly kingdom, the sweetness of everlasting rest, the happiness of eternal life. Commentary on Twelve Psalms 1.13

1:4 Like Dust Blown by the Wind

Driven by Every Temptation, Chrysostom: Even as chaff lies exposed to the gusts of wind and is easily caught up and swept along, so is also the sinner driven about by every temptation; for while a sinner is at war with himself and bears the warfare about with him, what hope of safety does he possess; betrayed as he is at home, carrying with him that conscience that is a constant enemy? Homilies Concerning the Statues 8.4.

Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

This comment really struck home for me, thinking of the master gardener planting the tree deliberately and the idea of thriving where I am planted. This also resonates when I think of my gardening daughter, Rose's, care and nurturing of her plants and how she delights when they thrive under her carefully plan for the correct environment for each.

The faithful tree is not simply a wild oak that takes its position by happenstance. Those who delight in Yaweh's torah are "planted" (a passive participle) — as by a master gardener — in the place where they can receive the nourishment they need to flourish. Like a tree planted in a conservatory, well watered and provided with a protective climate, the leaves of this tree never wither, and is able to remain consistently faithful.

Psalms Volume 1 (The NIV Application Commentary)

Here's a lovely reflection from a more modern wise man that takes us into considering how God provided for Jesus' upbringing with a righteous man.

Psalm 1 presents the classic image of the ‘just' man. We might well think of it as a portrait of the spiritual figure of Saint Joseph. A just man, it tells us, is one who maintains living contact with the word of God, who ‘delights in the law of the Lord’ (v. 2). He is like a tree, planted beside the flowing waters, constantly bringing forth fruit. The flowing waters, from which he draws nourishment, naturally refer to the living word of God, into which he sinks the roots of his being. God’s will is not a law imposed on him from without, it is ‘joy.’

Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives

Sources are here and an index of psalm posts is here. 

1914 Ivory Soap Ad

Jesse Wilcox Smith, illustrator
via My Daily Art Display

 

A Movie You Might Have Missed #29: Stranger Than Fiction

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 movie is an unexpected delight, as unique and original in its own way as About a Boy was, and that is high praise indeed. It's one of my top ten movies.

 29. Stranger Than Fiction

Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) is an IRS auditor with an incredibly dull life. One day he begins hearing a woman's voice narrating his every action. Unbeknownst to Crick, he actually is the protagonist in author Karen Eiffel's (Emma Thompson) latest novel. We are shown dual realities as Ferrell tries to discover why he is hearing the voice and Eiffel investigates method after method of killing off her character. When Ferrell hears the voice mention his impending death the search takes on a new urgency. He  enlists the aid of a literary professor (Dustin Hoffman) and life takes new turns as he begins to incorporate the professor's advice into his life.

This movie tells an original and delightful story while pointing out that things like a warm cookie, the touch of a hand, a hug, or a little act of kindness can transform our lives and make them worth living. It is also part of the genius of this movie, that such hackneyed phrases can take on a new and redemptive life when the viewer is seeing them ... and that is because they are true.

(My full review is here. After you've watched the movie, you may care to hear Scott and me discuss it at A Good Story is Hard to Find.)

Tahoto of Kogenji Temple in autumn

Takayoshi Endou, One of the most famous temples in Tamba,
the Tahoto of Kogenji Temple in autumn.

 

Changing what you eat

We mostly eat what we like. Before you can change what you eat, you need to change what you like.

Bee Wilson, First Bite

August Afternoon

 

August Afternoon, Appledore, Childe Hassam

Queen Elizabeth, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary

 

Portrait of Queen Elizabeth (1899). Gyula Benczúr.
Via Books and Art.

Do click through the link for a little more information about Queen Elizabeth.

The virtue of keeping on top of our moods

The practice of charity involves a whole series of virtues. These virtues support and defend charity. They include loyalty, gratitude, mutual respect, friendship, deference, affability, refinement ... If we are to live the Lord's New Commandment, we will often need to be on top of our moods. We will have to make an effort to be cordial, to spread good cheer, to be optimistic. It may be more natural for us to act in just the opposite way, to give in to critical spirit, to let slip harsh words, to use bad language, to become easily annoyed ... These are signs of a lack of supernatural struggle.

Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God, vol. 5

The Psalms - initial notes and sources

David dictating the Psalms

Recently my daughter Rose picked up a translation of St. Augustine's commentary on the first 50 psalms or so. My interest was piqued and I began thinking about reading through the psalms, along with a bunch of commentary — a very casual Bible study, in other words. And what better to do than to bring you all along for the ride?

There are a few psalms which I love, but in general I've not paid much attention to them. However, Athanasius's word below strike home. So I feel inspired to dive in deeper.

All the books of Scripture, both Old Testament and New, are inspired by God and useful for instruction (2 Tim 3:16), as it is written; but to those who really study it, the Psalter yields especial treasure. … Each of these books, you see, is like a garden which grows one special kind of fruit; by contrast, the Psalter is a garden which, besides its special fruit, grows also some those of all the rest.

And herein is yet another strange thing about the Psalms. In the other books of Scripture we read or hear the words of holy men as belonging only to those who spoke them, not at all as though they were our own … [however with] Psalms it is as though it were one’s own words that one read; and anyone who hears them is moved at heart, as though they voiced for him his deepest thoughts.

[T]he Psalms thus serve him who sings them as a mirror, wherein he sees himself and his own soul ...

Just as in a mirror, the movements of our own souls are reflected in them and the words are indeed our very own, given us to serve both as a reminder of our changes of condition and as a pattern and model for the amendment of our lives. ...

For I think that in the words of this book all human life is covered, with all its states and thoughts, and that nothing further can be found in Man.

Athanasius, Letter to Marcellinus on the Interpretation of the Psalms

Hebrew Poetry 

Let's take a super quick look at the way Hebrew poetry works because that's what the psalms are, after all.

Hebrew poetry doesn’t rhyme. It uses parallels to reinforce thoughts and make impact with creative repetition. You thought free verse was something new? Nope, it’s from Mesopotamian times and probably even before then. They’re just the first ones who wrote their songs down.

There are different sorts of parallels but these are easy to pick up. I don’t love poetry and I don’t love free verse but I began to enjoy Hebrew poetry once I discovered those parallels.

My mouth shall speak words of wisdom,
my heart shall offer insights.

Psalm 49:4

The second line above, parallels the point of the first, but by repeating the thought in different words which enrich and beautify.

A second method, of course, is to parallel by using contrasting or negative imagery to make the first point even stronger.

The wise heart turns to the right;
the foolish heart to the left.

Ecclesiastes 10:2

Last but not least is a method where the second part completes the thought from the first line.

As the deer longs for streams of water,
so my soul longs for you, O God.

Psalm 42:2

Adapted from Thus Sayeth the Lord by Julie Davis

Sources  

• The Book of Psalms: Translation with Commentary by Robert Alter
  Hebrew scholar Robert Alter's translations routinely made the top ten list every time one was published. No translation and commentary I have read has so vividly brought alive scripture. The commentary is cultural and literary rather than religious, just fyi, but that simply enhances it for the reader who already has a religious grounding.  
• Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture) edited by Craig A. Blaising, Carmen S. Hardin
  A truly stunning commentary consisting solely of Church Fathers. There are more than sixty-five authors and over 160 works excerpted in this commentary, some of which appear for the first time in English here.
• Psalms 51-150 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture) edited by Quentin F. Wesselschmidt. Vol. 2 of the psalms for the series. 
• Expositions of the Psalms 1-32 (Vol. I) (The Works of Saint Augustine)
  The inspiration for beginning this whole thing! It's a combination of essays and sermons. I am more drawn to the sermons which are more casual, but we'll see what hits me as we go along.
• Psalms Volume 1 (The NIV Application Commentary)
  This series is so thorough about ancient sources, very even handed, and really good about providing a way for insights into modern life via ancient text.
• The Navarre Bible: The Psalms and The Song of Solomon
  Great for the fact that they include so many comments from the Fathers of the Church, Catholic saints and popes and great thinkers, as well as including pertinent bits from the Catechism and other Church documents. 
• NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible
  Provides  context on the customs and culture of the Hebrew people and the ancient peoples around them. This is based on history, archaeology, and literature of the ancient world.
  
• Food for the Soul
  In his inimitable style, Kreeft offers reflections on each of the Sunday Mass readings, excepting the psalms (which I wish he'd included). These amount to a series of mini-homilies on each reading and I like them a lot so far. My review is here.
• The Word of the Lord
  Biblical scholar Dr. John Bergsma provides commentary on each Sunday's selection of readings. Whether you are a homilist seeking insight into the meaning of difficult scriptural passages or a Catholic desiring a deepened understanding of the readings you hear at Mass, The Word of the Lord series is an invaluable guide. My review is here.
• Morning and Evening Prayer: Meditations and Catechesis on Psalms and Canticles
  by Pope Benedict XVI
  This series of catechesis begun by Pope St John Paul II and completed by his successor Pope Benedict XVI is devoted to promoting the Liturgy of the Hours as a prayer of the whole people of God. These two popes offer original and illuminating reflections on each of the psalms and canticles leading the reader to deeper meditation and understanding. , Pope John Paul II

An index of psalms studied is here.

Big Bend National Park in 1899

Man sitting on a jonboat in Santa Elena Canyon in what is now Big Bend National Park
but was then unmapped territory during a U.S.G.S. survey back in 1899.
Via Traces of Texas

 

Every day of my life is a page of this book

So to make sure that there are no surprises at the last moment, I often like to take this book in my own hands — this book that I'm in the process of writing, whether I like it or not, as long as I live. I like to take it up and open it and let my soul read it. And that's very easy and very useful to do at the time of prayer or or examining one's conscience. I like to think that every day of my life is a page of this book; and when I begin a day what I have in front of me is a blank sheet of paper. And sometimes I run quickly through the pages already written, and allow the blank pages to pass through my fingers — the pages which are as yet unwritten because the time hasn't yet come. And in a funny way some pages always stay on my fingers: they are the days I don't know whether I'll get to write, because I don't know when the Lord will show me this book for the last time. ...

The "name of the game" is examination of conscience. You will gain a great deal of knowledge of yourself and of your character and your life. You will teach yourself to love God and to pin down your desire to make good use of your days by making clear, effective resolutions.

S. Canals, Jesus as Friend
via In Conversation with God, vol. 5

A Movie You Might Have Missed #28: Lagaan

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.

I am hard put to it to think of any four hour movie I'd recommend. When I add that it is a Bollywood sports film, that just increases the odds against it. Yet this movie's charm is undeniable.

A small Indian village battles a sadistic British officer during the time of the Raj. He has imposed high taxes or "lagaan" which a prolonged drought makes it impossible to pay. Rallied by one independent soul, Buvan, the villagers find themselves in a winner-take-all cricket match. You might want to treat this one like a mini-series as the 4-hour length that would make Martin Scorsese envious. However, I will add that Tom and I never regretted a minute of it.

This is a delightful story of the triumph of the human spirit, complete with Bollywood dancing and singing that moves the story along in the best musical style. I will add that, by the end, you will have a fairly decent understanding of cricket. I will also add that, noticing hair as I do, it was rather painful whenever the young villager who pushes everyone on to fight for their rights had his head uncovered. Possibly the worst haircut ever. As Tom said, "He looks like a young Vulcan." Other than that though ... enjoy!

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

Scott and I discuss Lagaan at A Good Story is Hard to Find.
Hannah and Rose discuss Lagaan at An American's Guide to Bollywood.

If you want your children to eat better ...

If you want your children to eat better, don't tell them what to do. Eat better yourself.

Bee Wilson, First Bites

Of course, this holds true for much more than eating. If you want your kids to live their faith and to love it, first do it yourself.

Monterey Coast

 Monterey Coast, Theodore Wores

Updated: Finally — The McCarrick Report

Yesterday the Vatican  finally released their report on  former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick who also was a sexual predator. This is a really lengthy document and I have not had a chance to read it but I can point you to a few places that I'm finding useful in beginning to get a handle on it.

I'll add to this as I come across other sources I like. I'm swamped with work right now so my time is a bit limited.

National Catholic Register -  they have a link to the full text and feature the Vatican's summary of the document.

Morning Glory radio show - I listen to the podcast. They will unpack the report a little at a time for several days in a row. They spent the first fifteen minutes today getting started.

UPDATED

Bishop Barron on The McCarrick Report - listen or watch here. An excellent and insightful discussion.

What you learn at the dinner table

The table was the place for family business and for family quarrels as much as a place for eating. but most important, it was where we shared stories and learned lessons. I remember one night when the subject of managing money came up. Daddy took ten dimes out of his pocket and laid them out on the tablecloth. He said, "You give the first dime to the church. The second dime goes in your savings account. And you live on the rest. That, he said, was called tithing, and is how we should manage our money and our lives.

At that small white table in our hot kitchen, we learned the values and traditions that I later tried to teach — to recommend to — my own children.

Robert Khayat, quoted in A Gracious Plenty

The Princess and the Goblins

 The Princess and the Goblin, by George McDonald, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith, (1920)

This is via a piece at My Daily Art Display about the illustrator. Check it out for more illustrations and to learn about the artist's life. I like this book a lot, but not nearly as much as my mother does. If you haven't read it, do give it a try. C.S. Lewis just loved George McDonald's writing and there's a good reason why.

The Cemetery Gates

The Cemetery Gates, Marc Chagall, 1917
via J.R.'s Art Place

Psalms Index

Canticles Index

(In alphabetical order)

• Daniel 3:57-88, 56 — Let Every Creature Bless the Lord
• Philippians (2: 6-11) – He humbled himself

Psalms Index

(Written in chronological order through Psalm 48. After that, as whimsy and inspiration takes me.)

 Initial Notes and Sources

• Background — The prevailing Western worldview is  no more "modern" than the worldview of the first Christians
• What is More Pleasing Than a Psalm? — what experience is not covered by the reading of a psalm?
  
• Psalm 1 — The Blessed and the Wicked
  
• Psalm 2 — The Lord's Anointed King
• Psalm 3 — Selah
• Psalm 4 — Deliverance and Thanksgiving
• Psalm 5 — The Holiness of God and the Power of Words
• Psalm 6 — A Prayer for Healing
• Psalm 7 — God Has Prepared His Deadly Weapons
• Psalm 8 — The Back Parts of God
• Psalm 9 — Confidence in God
• Psalm 10 — Plea for God's Judgment
• Psalm 11 — Trust in the Lord
• Psalm 12 — The Promises of the Lord are Pure
• Psalm 13 — Waiting on the Lord
  
• Psalm 14 — Fools Deny God
• Psalm 15 — Who May Dwell with God?
• Psalm 16 — Faithfulness to the Lord
• Psalm 17 — Prayer for Protection
• Psalm 18 — A Prayer of Thanksgiving
• Psalm 19 (part 1) — The Glory of Nature and the Law
• Psalm 19 (part 2) — God's Self Revelation 
• Psalm 19 (part 3) — Right Relationship with Nature and God 
• Psalm 20 — The King and the Community Can Trust God with Their Desires
• Psalm 21 — Thanksgiving and Trust
• Psalm 22 (part 1) — What Did It Mean Before Jesus Quoted It From the Cross?
• Psalm 22 (part 2) — The "Today" of Suffering God's Silence and the "Today" of the Resurrection 
• Psalm 23 — Trusting the Shepherd
• Psalm 24 — Who is This King of Glory?
• Psalm 25 — He Teaches the Sinners and the Humble His Way
• Psalm 26 — I Have Led a Blameless Life
• Psalm 27 — The Lord is My Light and My Help
• Psalm 28 — Plea for Divine Assistance
• Psalm 29 — The Lord Blesses His People with Peace
• Psalm 30 — Praise for Healing
• Psalm 31 — Into Your Hands I Commend My Spirit
• Psalm 32 — Happy Those Who Are Forgiven!
• Psalm 33 — The Sovereignty of God
• Psalm 34 — Praise for Deliverance
• Psalm 35 — Plea for Divine Assistance
• Psalm 36 — The Wicked and the Righteous
• Psalm 37 — Fret Not Because of Evildoers
  
• Psalm 38 — Prayer in Sickness
• Psalm 39 — To Know Gladness
• Psalm 40 — Waiting Patiently
• Psalm 41 — Prayer for Healing
• Psalm 42 — Thirsting for God
• Psalm 43 — Hope in God
• Psalm 44 — Prayer for Victory
• Psalm 45 — A Wedding Hymn
• Psalm 46 — God is Our Refuge
• Psalm 47 — God is Exalted
• Psalm 48 — The Power of Zion
• Psalm 149 — Song of Praise and Joy

Spiritual acts and practical resolutions

Meditation moves our will to make spiritual acts such a the love of God and neighbor, desire of heaven and eternal glory, or zeal for the salvation of souls; it makes us long to be like our Lord, awakens a sense of compassion, wonder and joy, or fear of offending God or of judgment and hell; it leads us to hate sin and have confidence in the goodness and mercy of God and to be ashamed of the sins of our past life.

...you must not dwell upon them to such an extent that you forget to make practical resolutions according to your own special needs; for example, the first words of our Lord on the Cross will surely arouse in your soul a desire to forgive your enemies and to love htem, but this is of little value unless it leads you to make a special resolution to that end, saying to yourself, "I resolve not to be annoyed any more by anything which so and so—perhaps a neigbor or a servant—may say to me, nor by any affront which some other person may offer me; on the contrary, I will say this or that to win him over," and so on. In this way, Philothea, you will correct your faults in a very short time; but if you rely upon your spiritual acts alone it will take you a very long time and be very difficult.

St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life

A little more that grabbed me from my daily reading.

Thank You to Our Veterans

Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it… it flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it. —Unknown

This is just so darned true. Our soldiers and veterans are so worthy of our thanks and pride. I think of my brother who has said several times, with becoming modesty, that he really just wanted to help other people. 

This moving photograph shows Chief Master Sgt. John Gebhardt, superintendent of the 22nd Wing Medical Group at McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas, holding an injured Iraqi girl. The picture was taken in October 2006, while Sgt. Gebhardt was deployed to Balad Air Base in Iraq. According to the Air Force Print News, the infant girl Sgt. Gebhardt held in his arms "received extensive gunshot injuries to her head when insurgents attacked her family killing both of her parents and many of her siblings." An Air Force Link article about the sudden fame he gained as the subject of this photograph reported that:

The chief had a knack for comforting [the injured Iraqi girl] and they often would catch a cat nap together in a chair. "I got as much enjoyment out of it as the baby did," he said. "I reflected on my own family and life and thought about how lucky I have been." While deployed to Iraq, the chief tried to help out any way he could. He figured holding a baby that needed comforting that would free up one more set of arms that could be providing care to more critical patients. "I pray for the best for the Iraqi children," he said. "I can't tell the difference between their kids and our kids. The Iraqi parents have the same care and compassion for their children as any American."

Source: Snopes

I haven't said it enough because none of us really can but to our veterans as well as those serving now ... thank you from the bottom of my heart.

A Saucer of Milk

 A Saucer of Milk by Carl Holsøe

Gospel of Matthew — Back in the beginning, a very good place to start

Matthew 28: 16-20

 I really love the point made about why Jesus called the disciples to meet him in Galilee. That never occurred to me before (as with so much in this brief look at Matthew over the last year).

Fresco in Bishop's chapel located in Cortona depicting the mission of the apostles

Placing the final scene in Galilee, Matthew brings the story full circle. This is where it all began, where Jesus grew into manhood, where the first apostles were recruited, and where the message of the kingdom first sounded forth. Readers have anticipated a return to Galilee since the prediction in 26:32 and the instructions given in verses 7 and 10. Galilee, the launching point for the Messiah's mission to Israel, is now to become the take-off poit for a mission to the whole world.

[...]

It is important to recognize that making disciples is not reducible to winning converts or ensuring that people get baptized. A disciple is one who listens to Jesus (17:5) and learns from him how to love (11:28-30), how to pray (6:9-13), and how to do what is pleasing to the Father (3:17). Christian discipleship is a total way of life, a commitment to pattern our daily actions and decisions after the example set by Jesus and his most heroic followers (see 1 Cor. 11:1). As important as it is to attend weekly Mass or to say one's bedtime prayers, something much more is called for in the Lord's mandate.

May we all become the disciples our Lord calls us to be! With this we end our look at the gospel of Matthew. 

Quote is from Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: Gospel of Matthew by Curtis Mitch and Edward Sri.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #27 — Waking Sleeping Beauty

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.

You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll fall in love all over again with a little mermaid. Believe it or not, all from a documentary

The Black Cauldron is universally agreed to be Disney's lowest point in animated movies. This documentary takes us from the time that movie is being created in 1984 through Disney's golden animation renaissance that began with The Little Mermaid and ended with The Lion King in 1994. How the studio went in a  mere ten-year period the depths to the heights of animation is the subject of this behind-the-scenes tale from the point of view of the animators. Everything is told through stills and archive footage although with new audio interviews by several of the principal figures. Much of the footage shot by the animators themselves while at work.

The business side of the company is also examined, including what was really responsible for Disney's rise and subsequent fall after The Lion King, the monumental egos of Roy Disney, Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenburg. Hearing the animators' side of these much loved movies is fascinating. The movie clips played remind us that it has been all too long since we watched The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast. As well, you will appreciate Howard Ashman as never before for his creative genius and the passion he gave to his work. It is an engrossing and surprisingly fast-paced work that any Disney movie fans will enjoy.

We can't fight imperfections if we don't know what they are

The task of purifying the soul cannot, may not, end as long as we live; however, our imperfections should not make us anxious, for perfection consists in fighting against them, and we cannot fight them unless we see them, or overcome them if we do not face up to them.

Victory does not lie in being unconscious of them, it lies in not consenting to them, and we are not consenting to them as long as they displease us.

In fact, to learn humility, we must sometimes be wounded in this spiritual warfare, but we will never be defeated unless we lose courage or our life, and as our spiritual life is lost only by mortal sin and never by imperfection or venial sins, we have only to look to our courage, praying with David that God may rescue us from the fears that daunt us and from the storm around us. (Cf. Ps. 54.9)

Luckily, in this kind of battle, we shall always be victorious as long as we are prepared to fight.

St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life

I've begun rereading  Introduction to the Devout Life, slowly — fortunately it comes in small doses and is perfect for that. Here's a bit that grabbed me.

A beautiful lady in a beautiful hat

Eula Wilson of Bowie, Texas circa 1900 (via Traces of Texas)

As stimulating as black coffee

Good conversation is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

This hits me where I live. It's why I have to have a slow-down time after my book club, for example. And even with that I often still can't sleep well all night because my brain is buzzing with all the talk and ideas.

Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his gallery in Brussels

 Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his gallery in Brussels, c. 1647–1651

Click through the link to take a look at all the paintings in the gallery in more detail.

Congealing into one story only

A society in crisis teaches itself to congeal into one story only, and sees reality through very narrow glasses. But there is never only one story.

Amos Oz

Praying and Fasting for the President to Experience Conversion of Heart

Note: I've updated my First Tuesday fast to expand the scope beyond whoever is president to include our country's leaders. We need heroes, we need effective leaders, we need people who are self sacrificing and willing to put the needs of the people beyond their own political agendas (like re-election).

 Below is the original post.

Today on Morning Glory, guest Father Josh Johnson pointed out that we've never had a President who has become Venerable or Blessed ... or in other words, a saint. Duh, I thought. Then he startled me by enthusiastically recommending that we fast and pray for whoever becomes president to experience a conversion of heart and to get on track for sainthood. 

Wow. The fact that I was so startled by such an idea, initially thought it crazy, says something about how pragmatically I view our governmental system and politicians. I loved Father's passion and belief that God can do anything. And, let's face it, that would indeed be a real change for either Joe Biden or Donald Trump. It would make them into the people we wish they would be. What a witness that would be.

So I'm going to do it. I'm still considering how to do this. I already fast on every first Friday for the Church and our priests. So this needs to be a separate fast. Right now I am thinking about a small fast — breakfast or lunch or maybe only bread all day (which is a heckuva lot harder than you'd think) — on the first Tuesday of each month (election day in November!). 

It's wild. It's reckless. It's completely crazy. So that makes it a perfect thing for God to use showing his glory and power. And this is a way to do that.

Join me!

Source

Thank God in every instance

One of the great spiritual "secrets" that the saints teach is that we should thank God in every instance for every event in our lives. Even what has the appearance of undoing us can be turned to powerful graces when we offer it to God with thanksgiving for what he is doing in that very event. The worst event of history, the crucifixion of the Son of God, is now our Eucharistic feast! Let the Eucharist be the perfection of paying your own debt of gratitude.

Paul Jerome Keller, A Year with the Eucharist

Today, the day after the election, I think maybe a lot of folks are feeling we're facing a bad event of history. As hotly contested as this election has been it seems inevitable that about half of us are going to be upset with the results. We're waiting to see who will be elected president with a mixture of hope and trepidation. Hope that our candidate will be elected, trepidation that he won't.

If your candidate doesn't win, remember it is by no means the worst event. And also remember that the same God in whom we trust can and does bring good from things we don't like. We see this over and over in the Old Testament. Just one example is Joseph from Genesis, whose brothers sold him to a passing caravan? He underwent what must have seemed very much the "worst." Yet at the end, he told his brothers that God had allowed it in order that he might be placed to save his family in time of great need.

Wherever he put you, serve him there. I myself am very thankful not to be a politician but to simply be a wife, a mother, a daughter, a writer, a Catholic ... and to serve where I am.

 Be not afraid and remember to rejoice in our Lord — with gratitude for everything.

Gospel of Matthew — Peter's Staggering Honesty and Heroic Courage

 Matthew 26: 57-58, 69-75

Here we have Peter's famous betrayal of Christ three times before the cock crows. It wrings the heart. I've often felt sympathetic with Peter because I've found myself in similar positions, albeit not usually so publicly. I've also admired his honesty in telling the story. After all, no one else knew this — except Jesus, of course.

However, the points made here about Peter's courage and love hadn't occurred to me before.

Peter's Denial, Duccio di Buoninsegna

No one can read this passage without being struck with the staggering honesty of the New Testament. If ever there was an incident which one might have expected to be hushed up, this was it—and yet here it is told in all its stark shame. We know that Matthew very closely followed the narrative of Mark; and in Mark's gospel this sotry is told in even more vivid detail (Mark 14:66-72). We also know, as Papias tells us, that Mark's gospel is nothing other than the preaching material of Peter written down. And so we arrive at the amazing fact that we possess the story of Peter's denial because Peter himself told it to others.

So far from supressing this story, Peter made it an essential part of his gospel; and did so for the very best of reasons. ... We must never read this story without remembering that it is Peter himself who is telling of the shame of his own sin that all men may know the glory of the forgiving love and cleansing power of Jesus Christ.

And yet it is quite wrong to regard Peter with nothing but unsympathetic condemnation. The blazing fact is that the disaster which happened to Peter is one which could have happened only to a man of the most heroic courage. All the other disciples ran away: Peter alone did not. In Palestine the houses of the well-to-do were built in a hollow square around an open courtyard, off which the various rooms opened. For Peter to enter that courtyard int he centre of the High Priest's house was to walk into the lion's den—and yet he did it. However this story ends, it begins with Peter the one brave man.

[...]

What happened to Peter after [the cock crowed] we do not know, for the gospel story draws a kindly veil over the agony of his shame. But before we condemn him, we must remember very clearly that few of us would ever have had the courage to be in that courtyard at all. And there is one last thing to be said—it was love which gave Peter that courage; it was love which riveted him there in spite of the fact that he had been recognized three times; it was love which made him remember the words of Jesus; it was love which sent him out into the night to weep—and it is love which covers a multitude of sins. The lasting impression of this whole story is not of Peter's cowardice, but of Peter's love.

Just imagine being in the Mass where Peter preached the story of his betrayal of Christ! Wouldn't that have been something?

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.

October

 Ok, this is titled October, but here in Dallas they would call it November because we don't have leaves turning fall colors until then usually. So I'm posting it now!

October, by Willard Leroy Metcalf, 1908. 

Via J.R.'s Art Place

The changing past

Nothing changes more constantly than the past; for the past that influences our lives does not consist of what actually happened, but of what [we] believed happened.

Gerald W. Johnson

A Movie You Might Have Missed #26 — Without a Clue

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.

Mystery and comedy. There may be no better combination, and certainly you won't find it done better than in today's movie.

Without a Clue features stellar teamwork by Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley, who are at their best here. Kingsley is Dr. Watson who actually is the genius at deduction. He has written his adventures as stories with a fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, so as to not hurt his chances at being named to a prestigious board. When the stories got so popular that people wanted to meet Holmes he hired actor, Reginald Kincaid to act the part. The problem: Kincaid is a two-bit, drunken, skirt-chasing actor (Caine) which causes no end of trouble and comic delight whenever "Holmes" tries to improvise his way through a case. 

 

It is a real delight to watch these two great actors throw themselves into their parts with wonderful comic timing. Caine gets a lot of mileage out of Holmes' efforts to appear a genius. This movie is especially good for any children who understand how twists work on the classic detective stories.

unstable Felicity by Cat Hodge

"Is Ohio your home?" Amita lit up. "Over Thanksgiving, I saw a Christmas movie set in a small town in Ohio, where the girl had to save her family's business by teaming up with the hot competitor, and he caught her when she fell off a ladder, and they got everyone to come together to fix up the old downtown. And then it snowed and they lived happily ever after," she sighed ...

===========

"Well, all your worries are over now! We'll straighten out your books, and then we're going to make the season merry and bright."

Oh, the season will be bright, Jill thought. That glow is just my family burning down.

Jill O'Leary hasn't been home for twelve years, except to attend her father's funeral. But now her mother's summoned her to help figure out the finances for the family's inn and Jill's all out of excuses. She's not sure what she dreads more — her demanding, self-absorbed mother or the White Elephant gift exchange.

Of course, her friend Amita has accurately predicted what we all expect in a Hallmark Christmas story and this book's got that and more. It also has elements of King Lear, which is a weird combination but it works. Somehow Cat Hodge delivers both a lighthearted, amusing Christmas adventure with the simmering rage, greed, and family dysfunction of Shakespeare for a very readable, funny story.

If a Hallmark Christmas and/or King Lear leave you cold, I understand. I myself avoid both. In fact, I had to look up the plot to King Lear online. But  this mashup is greater  than a sum of its parts. The elements that made it work for me were the results of Hodge's fertile imagination.

First, as I said, it is funny. Jill's machinations at the White Elephant exchange made me laugh. Quennedey's methods of squashing her mother's pretensions cracked me up. I loved Quennedey a lot. (When seeing how Quennedey's name is spelled, we understand exactly what her mother is like — a sign of Hodges' sly humor and intelligence.)

Second, there is a raw edge which opens up space for characters to grow. This mostly happens to the people around Jill but it is unexpected and interesting when it happens. This allows Hodge to  redeem a lot of the unlovable King Lear elements in a way that works for our modern times and that allow it to be a Christmas story.

I will say that I struggled in the beginning of this novella because I really disliked Jill and her knee-jerk rage. She definitely should have found a new therapist long ago. I was really shocked by one unrepentant action in particular.  It's a tough read when you don't like the main character. But I liked Kristin Lavransdatter and Gone with the Wind and really didn't like either of those main characters. As with those books, I just let this wash over me and enjoyed everything else. It also helped that it was kind of interesting to see the story once I realized that Jill was Lear's second daughter's — and she was not great (seriously, that online Lear summary really helped). So Jill was true to her origins.

You don't have to have seen King Lear or a Hallmark Christmas movie to enjoy this novel. The quirks, charm, and family drama are things we all understand and can appreciate. Get yourself a copy.

Pope Francis' homosexuality comments heavily edited in documentary

I was stunned, as was everyone to judge from the media headlines, when Pope Francis seemed to endorse same-sex civil unions in a documentary. However, I should have waited for the full context to be revealed.

Catholic News Agency (CNA) reports:

“Francesco,” a newly-released documentary on Pope Francis, contains comments from the pope on homosexuality and civil unions. Some of the remarks, however, are the result of editing distinct phrases from a papal interview and presenting them as a cohesive whole. ...

a CNA analysis of the interview’s transcript shows that other papal comments on homosexuality featured in “Francesco” were compiled by heavy editing of the 2019 interview’s video footage.

If you read the whole piece, CNA bolded the appearance of those words in an excerpted translation of the pope’s remarks during his 2019 interview. 

The Vatican still isn't commenting on the story and there may be further discussion to come, but it was nice to see the context for the Pope's comments.

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.