Driving Home the Cows

Driving Home the Cows by Edward Mitchell Bannister, 1881.

I love these pastoral pictures.

Steampunk Keyboard

Steampunk Keyboard

The quote from Pope Paul VI today made me go looking for this keyboard which I originally featured way back in 2008.

Here's the source and they show the whole process, complete with videos, of converting a regular keyboard to this thing of beauty.

I wonder if it is as comfortable for typing as it is beautiful to the eye?

Technological society can multiply pleasure but not happiness

Technological society has succeeded in multiplying the occasions of pleasure, but finds great difficulty in giving birth to happiness. For happiness has its origin elsewhere: it is a spiritual thing. Money, comfort, hygiene, material security, etc., may often not be lacking, but nevertheless, despite these advantages, boredom, suffering and sadness are frequently to be supervening in the lives of many people.

Pope Paul VI, Exhortation, Gaudete in Domino
quoted in In Conversation with God: Lent and Eastertide

Pope Paul VI wrote this almost 50 years ago in 1975. With more technology at our fingertips than ever, we can see the truth of the Pope's words as we look back across the decades. Where am I allowing technology to take the place of something more personal and meaningful?

Starling

Starling, Remo Savisaar

 Our starlings never look like this. We've got the drabber version in Texas. Though I bet the mechanical sounding squawking may be the same.

Heaven's Hunter by Marie C. Keiser

This was a fast-paced adventure/detective story set in a future when Catholicism is banned because of their crimes against humanity. At least that's how most people understand it. When his best friend is killed by space pirates, Major Randall Yung sets out to avenge him. The trail leads to secrets that affect not just Yung but also the whole darned universe.

I was more caught up in this than I expected, reading it in one night. That is good because it means the story telling had a quick pace that kept my interest. However, the book did keep to the surface of the story a lot of the time. We are told of major changes in Yung's way of thinking without a lot of digging into what is really going on personally with him.

The Catholic element was such that non-Catholics would still enjoy the book (or so it seems to me), while Catholics will appreciate the understated way that the faith affects the main character.

I liked the themes that the author explores while telling an action-filled story. As a first book it was enjoyable. I look forward to seeing how the author does in other books.

Dasvi (Tenth)

Ganga Ram Chaudhary is an, uneducated, corrupt, charismatic politician who has everything his way until he's jailed for bribery. When a tough warden removes all his perks and piques his pride by calling him an uncouth bumpkin Chaudhary decides to take advantage of the prison's education program, both to finally get his high school education (passing the "tenth standard") and to avoid manual labor. 

In the meantime, his formerly meek wife has been deputized to fulfill his political duties. Acquiring a taste for politics, she begins her own campaign to stay in power. Chaudhary must outwit her plans while finding a way to absorb the lessons that baffle a brain unused to education. 

I have always enjoyed Abishek Bachchan's comedic roles more than the serious ones and this is no exception. This film avoids the common Indian comedic signals of sound effects and funny sidekicks to use the humor of the situation to full advantage. We clearly see the "education message" coming but the familiar beats are so skillfully done that it is a pleasure to watch. I especially enjoyed the special key to unlocking Chaudhary's intelligence. After all, he couldn't be such a successful politician without being smart but tangents and cosigns are beyond him until that key is found.

I also really loved the star turn from Nimrat Kaur as his wife Bimmo. I liked her in The Lunchbox and Airlift, but in this film she shows a sassy, more forceful side as she begins to hold power and enjoy being more than a housewife.

Dasvi is suitable for all ages. It is truly a family film that everyone can enjoy, although you may have to let some of the political details wash over you. They don't matter. We understand the main story. The joy is in watching how it is played out in this particular circumstance by these very talented actors.

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

Scottie Schefler: “The reason why I play golf is I’m trying to glorify God and all that He’s done in my life."

I really loved this quote from Scottie Schefler after winning the Masters Tournament.

Facing the world’s press, he offered this response to a question about his goals and motivations:

“The reason why I play golf is I’m trying to glorify God and all that He’s done in my life,” he said. “So for me, my identity isn’t a golf score. Like Meredith told me this morning, ‘If you win this golf tournament today, if you lose this golf tournament by 10 shots, if you never win another golf tournament again,’ she goes, ‘I’m still going to love you, you’re still going to be the same person, Jesus loves you and nothing changes.’ All I’m trying to do is glorify God and that’s why I’m here and that’s why I’m in this position.”

Sports Spectrum

Well, there's something you don't hear every day. Although, as it turns out, you might hear it a lot more from different sports figures if the media would faithfully report what they say instead of leaving the faith angle on the cutting room floor.

This is from a Get Religion piece which looks at which media faithfully reported what Scottie Schefler said and which ones decided to not mention religion or God. After all, what Get Religion does is to report on the way the media reports (or doesn't) on religion.

The question is not whether journalists should INSERT religion into a story about an event of this magnitude. The question is why journalists feel the need to edit faith material OUT of these kinds of stories if some athletes — when asked to explain What. Makes. Them. Tick — openly and consistently discuss the role that religious faith plays in their lives.

Terry Mattingly, Get Religion
That missing piece, again: Why edit the faith factor out of Scheffler's win at the Masters?

Go read the whole thing. You can follow it up with another example from Get Religion: What happened when this 2022 Final Four hero was asked to explain his heart, mind, and soul?

Palm Sunday

Duccio di Buoninsegna, Jesus and his apostles entering Jerusalem

TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM

"How different the cries," St. Bernard comments, "'Away with him, away with him, crucify him,' and then 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, hosanna in the highest!' How different the cries are that now are calling him "King of Israel" and then in a few days time will be saying, 'We have no king but Caesar!' What a contrast between the green branches and the cross, between the flowers and the thorns! Before they were offering their own clothes for him to walk upon and so soon afterwards they are stripping him of his, and casting lots upon them." (St. Bernard, Sermon on Palm Sunday)

The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem asks for loyalty and perseverance from each one of us, it calls us to depend in our faithfulness, and for our resolutions to be more than just bright lights that sparkle for a moment and then fade away. There are some striking contrasts in the depths of our hearts, for we are capable of the very greatest things and also the very worst, and so if we wish to possess the divine life and triumph with Christ, we need to be constant and through penance deaden within us anything that separates us from God and prevents us from following Our Lord unto the Cross.

In Conversation With God Vol 2: Lent and Eastertide

Pieta

Pieta by Le Pho, painting on silk, 1935.

Need a Gift for a New Convert? Here are Three Good Options.

I've written three books that are often praised for their accessibility. They are often given as confirmation gifts, used for RCIA classes, and given to converts/reverts.

Thus Sayeth the Lord: A Fresh Take on the Prophets - my latest! This is the one to make anyone less afraid of reading the Old Testament.

Seeking Jesus in Everyday Life - A prayer devotional to help draw closer to Jesus

Happy Catholic - Living everyday as a Catholic, with just enough pop culture to show you can do it without withdrawing from regular life.

One of the most terrifying religious paintings in the world

Fresco of the Deeds of the Antichrist (c. 1501) in Orvieto Cathedral.
Luca Signorelli

 I'd never have come across today's art if not for Bishop Barron's essay, excerpt below. Click on the painting to see it enlarged and make sure you can see the two people on the pedestal.

 Imagine a truly wicked person who is also very smart, very talented and very enterprising. Now raise that person to a far higher pitch of ontological perfection, and you will have some idea of what a devil is like. Very rarely, devils intervene in human affairs in vividly frightening and dramatic ways. But typically, devils act more indirectly and clandestinely, through temptation, influence and suggestion. One of the most terrifying religious paintings in the world is in the Cathedral of Orvieto in Italy. It is a depiction of the Antichrist by the great early renaissance painter Luca Signorelli. The artist shows the devil whispering into the ear of the Antichrist, and also working his arm through the vesture of his victim in such a way that it appears to be the Antichrist’s own arm, thereby beautifully symbolizing how the dark power acts precisely with us and through us.

Bishop Robert Barron, Vibrant Paradoxes

The spirit of penance

This week I'll do my confession before Easter. I'm definitely glad to have a parish where there are options practically every day for the next two weeks. That timing made this reflection hit home.

After its reconciliation with God, there are still left in the soul the remains of sin; a weakness of the will to abide in good. There will remain also a certain facility for making wrong judgements: a certain disorder in the sensual appetite ... They are the weakened scars of actual sin and the disordered tendencies left in man by original sin, which are brought to a head by our personal sins. It is not enough to remove the arrow from the body, says St. John Chrysostom; We also have to heal the wound caused by the arrow. It is the same with the soul; after we have received forgiveness for our sins, we have to heal the wound that remains through penance.

Even after absolution, John Paul II teaches, there remains in the Christian a dark area, due to the wound of sin, to the imperfection of love in repentance, to the weakening of the spiritual faculties. It is an area in which there still operates an infectious source of sin which must always be fought with mortification and penance. This is the meaning of the humble but sincere act of satisfaction [penance].

For all of these reasons we must put a lot of love into fulfilling the penance the priest gives us before granting absolution. It is usually easy to perform and, if we really love God, we will be aware of the great disparity there is between our sins and the penance we have been given. It is yet another reason for increasing our spirit of penance during this Lent, when the Church calls us to it in a special way.

Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God,
Lent and Eastertide, Fifth Monday of Lent

"The weakened scar of actual sin" isn't something I ever think of, but it does make sense that a spiritual wound leaves a spiritual scar. Not only do my disordered tendencies lead me to repeat my favorite sins (as much as I hate to call them that), but now I am a bit weakened. I certainly never thought of this application to my Lenten penance. 

It's heartening to read this for my home stretch of these last two weeks when, frankly, both the spirit and body begin to lag.

Interior with Portraits

Interior with Portraits by Thomas LeClear

 There is a lot going on in this painting and I encourage you to click the link above so you can see it more closely. There's a lot of humor in the idea of a painting of someone taking a photograph. Little touches are added in the clutter around the cleared photography space and the dog who has just shoved the door open and is barging in.

A Trompe L'œil with a Young Nun peeking out through a Shutter

A Trompe L'œil with a Young Nun peeking out through a Shutter

 I love trompe l'oeil where the painting makes you feel as if something is happening in the real world instead of the art. In this case the nun appears as if she is peering out of a real shutter towards us.

Things are not as they're supposed to be.

Things as they are, are not as they're supposed to be. You might be uncomfortable with that because it might fly directly in the face of what the culture tells us, like when the question is asked, "What's wrong with you?" We know the message is, "You're perfect just the way you are."

Really? Have you spent time with you? Because I've spent time with me and I know that "You are perfect, Father Mike, just the way you are" is not true. That is not even close to being true.

... This is what we all need to know. I am not perfect as I am but I am loved as I am. This is the key. This is what the culture can't offer us. That's why the culture has to keep saying "You're perfect as you are" because God himself says: "No, no, you aren't perfect as you are but you are loved as you are. No you are not perfect as you are, but you are called to be more than you are. And, no you are not perfect as you are, but you are fought for by a God who wants you as you are." This is the only thing they can't offer. This is what God offers.

Father Mike Schmitz, podcast, episode Undone: We've Come Undone

Long-Tailed Tit

Long-Tailed Tit, Remo Savisaar

 There couldn't be a more perfect background for that little ball of fluff!

April

Theo van Hoytema, 1911 calendar

April

April, Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry

The arrival of spring, hope and new life - the grass is green and a newly betrothed couple are exchanging rings in the foreground, accompanied by friends and family. The chateau is another one of the Duc's, that of Dourdan.

University of Chicago

The Wanderer

 

The Wanderer by Ferdinand Brunner

I can't help but see the Prodigal Son returning home when I look at this painting.

What's Hard to Believe About God

From commentary on the parable of the Prodigal Son, Luke 15:1-3, 11-32.

What is not surprising or shocking, to any intelligent and honest mind, is that God is not only all-powerful and all-knowing but also all-good, all-righteous, all-just. No one who believes in one supreme God thinks of God as a criminal or a liar or a sneak. But sometimes it's hard for us to believe that God is so forgiving and merciful that he seems almost crazy; that he goes so far beyond justice into love that he is as ready with his forgiveness even for our worst sins as was the father in this story; that (as the saints say) it is impossible to commit a sin greater than God will forgive if we are sincerely repentant—that is news, and truly amazing news; news that is good beyond all hope.

Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul, Year C, Fourth Sunday of Lent

As has often been said by various people ranging from St. Francis de Sales to Father Mike Schmitz, we are our own worst critics. God is ready to forgive us when we will not forgive ourselves. Take a look at the speech the son is practicing as he trudges home and see how the father cuts him short, not letting him finish before forgiving. This is something to keep in mind if you are near the confessional as we enter the second half of Lent.

Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman — What Does It Mean to Be a Black Catholic?

Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman, FSPA, left an indelible mark on her community and on her Church. She lovingly taught young people about the joy of being Christian, she challenged her church to accept her as “fully black and fully Catholic,” she embraced her suffering with a willing spirit and she called all to a living faith.

Sister Thea Bowman Cause for Canonization website

I never heard of Sister Thea Bowman until her cause for sainthood was opened in 2019 but I was captivated by her sweet expression and the story I read in the National Catholic Register which I encourage you to read.

I was reminded of her by The Pillar's fine piece which includes a video of her speech to the American Bishops in 1989.  Do go watch it. Hearing her deliver this is wonderful.

Here is the transcript which the USCCB has posted for reading over. Here's a bit.

... What does it mean to be Black and Catholic? It means that I come to my Church fully functioning.

That doesn’t frighten you, does it? I come to my Church fully functioning. I bring myself; my black self, all that I am, all that I have, all that I hope to become. I bring my whole history, my traditions, my experience, my culture, my African-American song and dance and gesture and movement and teaching and preaching and healing and responsibility - as gifts to the Church. I bring a spirituality that our Black-American bishops told us (they just told us what everybody who knew, knew), that spirituality is contemplative and biblical and holistic, bringing to religion a totality of mind and imagination, of memory, of feeling and passion, and emotion and intensity. A faith that is embodied incarnate praise - a spirituality that knows how to find joy even in the time of sorrow – that steps out on faith that leans on the Lord. A spirituality that is commoner – that tries to walk and talk and work and pray and play together. Even when we’re busy, we’re busy around and we want to be find Him, where we want to reach out and touch Him. Where we can talk to Him. Don’t be too busy y’all. A spirituality that in the middle of your mass or in the middle of your sermon we just might have to shout out and say “Amen”, “Hallelujah”, “Thank you Jesus!”.

A faith that attempts to be spirit-filled. The ol’lady say, “That if you love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart and your whole soul, and your whole mind and all your strength then you praise the Lord with your whole heart and soul and mind and strength and you don’t bring him any feeble service. If you get enough fully functioning Black Catholics in your dioceses they’re going to hold up the priest and they’re going to hold up the bishop. We love our bishops y’all. We love y’all too but see these bishops are our own – ordained for the Church universal, ordained for the service of God’s people. But they ours - we raised them. They came from our community and in a unique way they can speak for us and to us. That’s what the Church is talkin’ about with indigenous leadership – the leaders are supposed to look like their folks. Ain’t that what the Church says? ...

A Movie You Might Have Missed #62: Night Train to Munich

It's been 11 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.

Charters: I bought a copy of Mein Kampf. Occurred to me it might shed a spot of light on all this... how d'ye do. Ever read it?

Caldicott: Never had the time.

Charters: I understand they give a copy to all the bridal couples over here.

Caldicott: Oh, I don't think it's that sort of book, old man.

When the Germans march into Prague, armour-plating inventor Dr Bomasch flees to England. His daughter Anna escapes from arrest to join him, but the Gestapo manage to kidnap them both back to Berlin. As war looms, British secret service agent Gus Bennet follows disguised as a senior German army officer. His ploy – not unpleasant one – is pretending to woo Anna to the German cause.

This was a complete pleasure. Why is this gem not better known? My daughter rented it to see what Carol Reed's other movies were like (besides The Third Man). Night Train to Munich has witty dialogue, spy story action, suspense, a romantic hero who is detached and narcissistic, unexpected plot twists, and two bird-brained Englishmen who drive the plot in unexpected ways. (Their reaction to learning that England and Germany is at war is priceless.)

When you consider that this was made in 1939 (in theaters in 1940), then the continual, subtle jabs at the Germans become even more interesting. It's like Ernst Lubistch's To Be or Not to Be in using humor to make points but, of course, completely different.

A Water Conduit, A Scene in Sado

A Water Conduit, A Scene in Sado by Kawase Hasui

 

Well Said: Straight thinkin' is a delusion

From my quote journal and a book I reread fairly often because it is so much fun, The Pirates of Ersatz by Murray Leinster.

Hoddan began suddenly to see real possibilities. This was not a direct move toward the realization of his personal ambitions. But on the other hand, it wasn't a movement away from them. Hoddan suddenly remembered an oration he'd heard his grandfather give many, many times in the past.

"Straight thinkin'," the old man had said obstinately, "is a delusion. You think things out clear and simple, and you can see yourself ruined and your family starving any day! But real things ain't simple! They ain't clear! Any time you try to figure things out so they're simple and straightforward, you're goin' against nature and you're going to get 'em mixed up! So when something happens and you're in a straightforward, hopeless fix—why, you go along with nature! Make it as complicated as you can, and the people who want you in trouble will get hopeless confused and you can get out!"

Hummingbird and Apple Blossoms

  Martin Johnson Heade, Hummingbird and Apple Blossoms

 I love this because how many times I have seen a hummingbird perched just so, guarding the precious bit of yard and nectar from encroachment!

A Movie You Might Have Missed #61: Cat People

It's been 11 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.

To kiss her meant death.

Sketch artist Irena Dubrovna (Simon) and American architect Oliver Reed (Smith) fall in love and marry after a brief courtship. But Irena believes that she suffers from an ancient curse and won’t consummate the union for fear that she will turn into a panther compelled to kill her lover.

I see why this is one of Roger Ebert's Great Movies. We watched it because it was the first hit by famed producer Val Lewton and the movie that saved RKO from financial ruin. This little gem cost about $140,000 but made $4 million in two years. In 1942. Talk about a blockbuster!

The overtones of inevitable inherited evil, the use of light and shadow, the wonderful sets, and the unspoken simmering sexual tension (not even a kiss for her long suffering husband) all add up to much more than 73 minutes of routine old horror film.

We wanted to find a city like the one they lived in, also — with that cozy, overstuffed pet shop and the quirky Sally Lunn restaurant. Where else can you get Chicken Gumbo with a cheese plate to finish?

God does like dunces

There is no doubt that God does like dunces, repugnant as it is. I think it is like the lower classes—everyone loves the simple gaffer until he starts telling us what he heard on The Brain Trust the evening before. We are all very lower class to God and our cleverness and second-hand scholarship bore him hideously.

Evelyn Waugh, letter

I think the bit about boring God hideously is a reflection of Waugh and not of God, who is never bored by his creations ... however much they may bore us personally! But I do like the overall point.

Le Chef de l'Hotel Chatham, Paris

Le Chef de l'Hotel Chatham, Paris; William Orpen

I love his mustachios!

Street Vendor, Ahmedabad

Edwin Lord Weeks, Street Vendor, Ahmedabad via Gandalf's Gallery

 

Joy of Life

Joy of Life, Remo Savisaar

 

Ukranian art — “God is in her midst and does not move.”

Elizabeth Lev is a Catholic art historian whose writing I have  enjoyed every time I read Roman Pilgrimage by George Weigel.  She's got a good piece for The Pillar about how Ukranian art is cultural memory. The whole thing is great, interspersed with wonderful photos. This is the kicker, though.

The Virgin Orans, in the “Unbreakable Wall”
of St. Sophia’s cathedral. public domain

Perhaps the most important work of art in Ukraine sits inside St Sophia, the icon of the “unbreakable wall,” an 18-foot-tall mosaic of the Mother of God, hands raised in prayer. She has withstood centuries of raids, fires and bombing, unshaken and unharmed.

The inscription next to her is from Psalm 46: ‘God is in her midst and does not move.” She invites believers to invoke the Lord in this difficult hour, “our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.’”

Go read it all at The Pillar.

Sun, Water

 

Sun, Water by Duane Keiser

Cheat's Souffle with Three Cheeses

Here's a little something that makes a truly delicious Lenten Friday meal. Or, a great breakfast or brunch dish too. Serve it with rolls and a salad (green or fruit, depending on what time of day it is).

She doubled the deference which before had charmed him ...

She doubled the deference which before had charmed him, calling out his conversational powers in such a manner as to surprise Pitt himself, who, always inclined to respect his own talents, admired them the more when Rebecca pointed them out to him.

William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair

This made me laugh. It is this humor that keeps me reading Vanity Fair.

Study Head of an Old Woman

William J. Forsyth - Study Head of an Old Woman [c.1883-84]

I'd respect today's modern, abstract artists a lot more if I thought that they could turn out something of this quality before they turned to a different style.

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc by William Blake Richmond, 1900.

 

The Old Books With Grace Podcast

 I just discovered the Old Books with Grace podcast recently and had only sampled a couple of her initial Julian of Norwich episodes. I know — Julian of Norwich — when she says "old books," Grace isn't kidding. 

Grace is a medievalist, scholar and teacher. She has a very accessible style and I liked what I tried. I was going to wait to recommend it until I'd tried some other offerings from her Persuasion series.

However, she began a Lenten series which I think a lot of people would benefit from — Virtues and Vices. Certainly it is good for me to listen and think about.

There will be an episode a week through Lent so it is early in the series and is easy to catch up.

God's word is a living spring

Lord, who can comprehend even one of your words? We lose more of it than we grasp, like those who drink from a living spring. For God’s word offers different facets according to the capacity of the listener, and the Lord has portrayed his message in many colors, so that whoever gazes upon it can see in it what suits him. Within it he has buried manifold treasures, so that each of us might grow rich in seeking them out.

St. Ephram

This was one of the Office of Readings selections sometime recently. This expresses so well how I feel about scripture.

The Norseman

The Norseman, Walter Crane, 1893

I love this illustration. It makes me think of all the wonderfully illustrated children's books from long ago. I'm going to look for more from Walter Crane.

Newlyweds

Newlyweds in Rogers, Texas circa 1900

More about this can be found at Traces of Texas, which never fails to brighten my day with the many Texas photos and quotes that are featured.
 

The End of the Affair by Graham Greene

Set in London during and just after the Second World War, the novel examines the obsessions, jealousy and discernments within the relationships between three central characters: writer Maurice Bendrix; Sarah Miles; and her husband, civil servant Henry Miles.

This is a book where the mere title has turned me away for ages. I don't like the topic and people endlessly moaning on about blighted love. However, my daughter, Hannah, listened to the audiobook where Colin Firth does a magnificent job. She couldn't stop talking about it and then made it her selection for our Catholic women's book club.

I scheduled it for Lent and began it early. Gripped by how good it was, I sped through the audio in four days so I finished before Lent even began. I've ordered the print version so I can reread it more slowly.

There hardly could there be a better book to read during that penitential time, with themes of looking for love and grabbing what we can, rejecting God's existence, and wrestling with what we believe and base our lives upon.

Both the prose and the novel itself are simply magnificent. Read it despite the topic. There is much more there than meets the eye so don't judge this book by its cover — or title.[The title gives away what seems to me to be the big theme of the book — it is about God himself ending our affair with the world and lesser things than Himself so we can return to our one true love and finally be happy. (hide spoiler)]

Almsgiving

 I have heard that there are some very creative ways to get money to the Ukrainians but I am falling back on the tried and true: Catholic Charities. They are on the ground in Ukraine and neighboring countries to help with food, shelter, clothing, transport, counseling, and more.

I am making this one of my Lenten almsgiving priorities. Give here.

Beautiful Winter Day

Beautiful Winter Day, Remo Savisaar

 In Texas, we clearly are out of winter which, thanks to La Niña, came in waves between unseasonably warm weather. I would love this image of the beauty of the trees covered with frost and snow anyway, but perhaps our odd weather makes me love it even more..

1984, Moses, and Memory

The Close Reads podcast is going to begin discussing 1984 by George Orwell. I don't follow along with everything they read but I do dip in regularly for some of their book discussions. I especially enjoy the lively discussion on their Facebook page. 

I remember reading 1984 many years ago to see what all the fuss was about. I hated the dystopian world so much that I read it at a run and, unsurprisingly, recall almost nothing of it. I figured that this is my chance to get some thoughtful commentary to help me through the book.

Moses Speaks to Israelites

Also, my daughter, Rose, read it last year and had been recommending it because it is so timely to consider for how our society is changing right now. I am combining the print book with the audiobook (a wonderful narration by Simon Prebble, which will surprise no one who has listened to him before). 

I read Part 1 and found the dreary world didn't capture my attention this time as much as the ways in which the protagonist, Winston Smith, experiences the totalitarian socialist world of 1984 in London. For me, the really interesting part is the way that the author zeroes in on memory. It is manipulated, revised, and managed in ways that seem all too familiar these days — albeit not in using the same methods or from a top-down source. No, ours seems, in many ways, to be more grass roots.

Pondering this, I read John Bergsma's commentary* for the first reading last Sunday and was dumbfounded at how it complemented my 1984 reading so far. I am including the scripture reading and the related section of Bergsma's commentary.

First Sunday of Lent

Reading I
Dt 26:4-10

Moses spoke to the people, saying:
“The priest shall receive the basket from you
and shall set it in front of the altar of the LORD, your God.
Then you shall declare before the Lord, your God,
‘My father was a wandering Aramean
who went down to Egypt with a small household
and lived there as an alien.
But there he became a nation
great, strong, and numerous.
When the Egyptians maltreated and oppressed us,
imposing hard labor upon us,
we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers,
and he heard our cry
and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.
He brought us out of Egypt
with his strong hand and outstretched arm,
with terrifying power, with signs and wonders;
and bringing us into this country,
he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey.
Therefore, I have now brought you the firstfruits
of the products of the soil
which you, O LORD, have given me.’
And having set them before the LORD, your God,
you shall bow down in his presence.”

And now the commentary which struck me.

The First Readings during the first five Sundays of Lent are designed to provide an overview of salvation history, with a special emphasis on the Passover and Exodus from Egypt because from Holy Thursday to Easter we will relive these events in our own liturgy.

This First Reading at the beginning of Lent is particularly suitable because it provides a summary or overview of Israel's story from the time of Jacob (the wandering "Aramean," that is, Syrian) through the Exodus, to the conquest and settlement of the Promised Land.

In this passage from Deuteronomy, Moses commands the Israelites to come regularly to the central sanctuary in order to worship. When they come, they are to recite the history of salvation in order to commemorate it before the Lord.

This passage reminds us of the importance of memory in worship. To tis day, when we celebrate Mass, we do it "in remembrance of me," that is, the Lord Jesus. One of the enemies of the spiritual life is forgetfulness. We forget what God has done for us. We forget who we are, what we have experienced as God's people, where we come from, and where we are going. As they say, those who forget history are condemned to repeat it. Applied to the spiritual life, that means those who forget the bondage God has saved them from will side back into that bondage. Therefore the Church wisely requires us to co come to Mass weekly in order to remember God's salvation.

Furthermore, in the Bible, remembrance is not just mental recall. Remembrance involves a new saving act of God. God remembers Noah in the ark. God remembers the people of Israel in Egypt. In both cases, God's "remembrance" involves salvation. This is the reason the psalms frequently ask God to "remember " his people (Ps 20:3; 74:2, 18; 89:50, etc.). When we come into Mass to "do this in remembrance of me" we are asking God to pour out his saving power on us once again for the coming week.

Much of American Christianity has religious "amnesia." There is no remembrance of the saints, the councils, the persecutions, the missionary martyrdoms, or the history of God's people. Even the Old Testament often gets ignored. As a result, there is little sense of being part of one people of God through the ages. Memory creates identity. A person with amnesia forgets who they are. The Church in her wisdom constantly encourages us to remember so that we know who we are.

*The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C by John Bergsma. I will do a review of this series soon but I really love it.

Damon Runyon Favorites

Damon Runyon spun humorous and sentimental tales of gamblers, hustlers, actors, and gangsters, few of whom go by "square" names, preferring instead colorful monikers such as "Nathan Detroit", "Benny Southstreet", "Big Jule", "Harry the Horse", "Good Time Charley", "Dave the Dude", or "The Seldom Seen Kid". His distinctive vernacular style is known as "Runyonese": a mixture of formal speech and colorful slang, almost always in present tense, and always devoid of contractions. 

Having closed out 2021 by watching Guys and Dolls, it seemed perfect to begin 2022 by reading some of the stories that inspired the movie's style, if not the story.

I can't believe this is my first time reading Damon Runyon. I loved the narrator's voice, the comic twists (which made me think of O'Henry), and the world of the guys and dolls. My favorite story was Princess O'Hara, especially the part where the gang realizes that they have experience in stealing a lot of things like diamonds but no one knows how to steal a horse so they have to go to a rodeo to look for someone with experience.

This is perfect light-hearted reading along the lines of P.G. Wodehouse or, as I mentioned above, O'Henry. I will be reading more Runyon in the year to come. 

Maart

Maart, Theo van Hoytema

Mushroom Galette

Meatless Fridays are here! If you're looking for something different and meatless, try this Mushroom Galette which is sophisticated, delicious, and simple. I posted it today so you have time to get the ingredients for tomorrow.

What I'm Doing for Lent 2022 — Updated

 I was reading Joseph's post about his Lenten plans and liked his comments about fasting and abstinence on Ash Wednesday.

Fasting is eating much less food than you normally would; abstinence in this context is not eating meat. The point of this penance is not to punish yourself. It's to "acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart." Rather than being led around by our appetites, we practice saying "no" to them so that we are free to focus on other, more important things.

I also was interested in his practice of giving up fiction for Lent and toyed with that myself. I'm not doing it now, but it is under consideration for Passion Week when I want to up the ante a little.

I also found The Curt Jester's post valuable as he realized, “Wow do I need to kick up my Lenten penance a notch.” More about that in a minute.

I also was struck when he said, "I am over the age where it is no longer mandatory that I fast, but I do it anyway." Huh. Gosh maybe I am too. And it turns out that I am as the required age range is 19-59. However, at this point I don't need my "get out of fasting free card" and will save it for when I'm no longer in my usual good health. Also, I fast every first Friday for the Church, our priests, etc. and that has slightly gotten me into better shape for that sort of penance. (Hey, it is like finding you've strengthened a spiritual muscle! Woohoo!)

Now, about kicking up Lenten penance. I already had a specific spiritual fast planned that was going to be pretty challenging. However, I was turning over the idea that a physical fast challenges you in a completely different way. Both can bring you closer to God as you clear out more room for the Holy Spirit, obviously, but I've never done both before.

Then my daughter, Rose, mentioned that she was going to try to be heroic this Lent, in the fashion recommended by the Burrowshire Podcast. This turned my thoughts in a new direction which encouraged my thoughts about spiritual/physical fasting even more.

I have tended not to share this sort of thing on the blog, along the lines of following Jesus' advice about praying by myself and not boasting that I'm fasting. However, since I got a lot from these bloggers, I will follow suit!

• Spiritual fasting from criticizing others or attributing motivations to them.
   
• Physical fasting from lunch. If I've got a lunch commitment (and I've got two of them this week, believe it or not, made before I had this idea) then I will choose something I don't like. Ugh. I'd rather fast.
  
  
• Almsgiving will follow Bishop Barron's suggestion from a prior Lent. I will give to whatever groups solicit me in the mail. If I don't have much of that happening, then I will pick weekly donations from my parish's envelope packet and give to some that I usually skip. "The Church in Eastern Europe," I'm lookin' at you!
  
  
• Prayer will be added in the form of the Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours. I have the iBreviary app on my phone and use it daily to check out the 2nd reading in the Office of Readings (coming from a saint/Church father/Catechism, etc.). Since I did a silent retreat last fall I've been doing morning and evening prayer but I'm curious to see what it will be like in this structured form.
  
  
• Reading nonfiction is going to be Meditations on Vatican Art by Mark Haydu and The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales for Lent. Fiction is going to be a reread of The End of the Affair by Graham Greene. It is going to be our April book for my book club and I jumped the gun, listening to Colin Firth's excellent narration before Lent even began. It was so good that I got the print version and will be reading it slowly through March.
  
  
• Household fasting is going to take the place of having mostly meatless meals. Maybe two a week will have meat as a major component. We did this in July, following Kendra Tierney's suggestion from her excellent Catholic All Year Round book. It was an interesting challenge to have many meatless meals without making others feel as if they were living a dreary sacrifice, especially my mother who is not Christian. She never noticed. It was also good discipline for us in a housewifely way as it is very easy to have meat be the anchor around which all else dances. I'm actually looking forward to it.
  

March

March, Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry

The year's first farm work, sowing and ploughing and suchlike. The chateau in the background is that of Lusignan, one of the Duc's favourites.

University of Chicago

Praying for Ukraine

It’s not time to start "whining" so to speak, it's time for us to pull ourselves up. As spiritual people this is what we are supposed to show, hope: that God will provide, that everything is in His hands, and we believe in it.

Bishop Andriy Rabiy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

This is from an interview by The Pillar which is quite good, including some Ukranian history. 

I feel as if I am watching a rerun of past aggression like Hitler and the Sudetenland. We thought we were so modern and past all that, but here we are again. In many ways it's just like reading the books of Chronicles and Kings in the Old Testament.

As back then, the average person has little power. However, we can pray and that is taking action even if it might not feel like it. We pray for the victims, we pray for the aggressors to have changed hearts even if that eventuality seems unlikely. But as Paul pointed out we are fools for Christ's sake. So we pray for the unlikely, the miraculous.

We do not lose hope for a glimmer of conscience on the part of those who hold in their hands the fortunes of the world. And we continue to pray and fast – as we shall do this coming Ash Wednesday – for peace in Ukraine and in the entire world

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See Secretary of State

We all reflect the light

Use creatures as they should be used: the earth, the sea, the sky, the air, the springs and the rivers. Give praise and glory to their Creator for all that you find beautiful and wonderful in them. See with your bodily eyes the light that shines on earth, but embrace with your whole soul and all your affections the true light which enlightens every man who comes into this world. Speaking of this light the prophet said: Draw close to him and let his light shine upon you and your face will not blush with shame. If we are indeed the temple of God and if the Spirit of God lives in us, then what every believer has within himself is greater than what he admires in the skies.

Saint Leo the Great, Pope, from a sermon

This was from the Office of Readings for Feb. 11. That's the one bit of the Liturgy of the Hours I reliably do daily. It struck me that through this focus we see the world lit with God's glow. Nature and we are all like the moon, reflecting the sun.

Psalm 32 — Happy Those Who Are Forgiven!

When you see people being baptized and ransomed
out of a generation that is perishing,
and you are in wonder at the loving kindness of God toward the human race,
then sing to them Psalm 32.

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms

It is really impossible for a Catholic to read this psalm without thinking of what a blessing the sacrament of reconciliation is. We all know the feeling of wracking guilt. It is part of the human condition. Likewise, we all know the sublime relief and joy in confessing our offense and being forgiven. This psalm speaks to all those feelings while giving good advice in the beginning and end as to how we should strive to live.

David's Joy Over Forgiveness; as in Psalm 32;
illustration from a 1903 Bible card

Pope John Paul II looked at the connection with the sacrament of reconciliation when he discussed Psalm 32 in his series of homilies on the psalms and canticles of evening prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours.

At this point it is the Lord who speaks in order to promise to guide the now converted sinner. Indeed, it is not sufficient to have been purified; it is necessary to walk on the right path. Therefore, as in the Book of Isaiah (cf. Is 30: 21), the Lord promises: "I will instruct you... the way you should go" (Ps 32[31]: 8), and invites docility. The appeal becomes solicitous, "streaked" with a bit of irony using the lively comparison of a mule and horse, symbols of stubbornness (cf. v. 9). Indeed, true wisdom leads to conversion, leaving vice and its dark power of attraction behind. Above all, however, it leads to the enjoyment of that peace which flows from having been freed and forgiven.

In the Letter to the Romans St Paul refers explicitly to the beginning of our Psalm to celebrate Christ's liberating grace (cf. Rom 4: 6-8). We could apply this to the sacrament of Reconciliation.

In light of the Psalm, this sacrament allows one to experience the awareness of sin, often darkened in our day, together with the joy of forgiveness. The binomial "sin-punishment" is replaced by the binomial "sin-forgiveness", because the Lord is a God who "forgives iniquity and transgression and sin" (cf. Ex 34: 7).

St Cyril of Jerusalem (fourth century) uses Psalm 32[31] to teach catechumens of the profound renewal of Baptism, a radical purification from all sin (cf. Procatechesi, n. 15). Using the words of the Psalmist, he too exalts divine mercy. We end our catechesis with his words: "God is merciful and is not stingy in granting forgiveness.... The mountain of your sins will not rise above the greatness of God's mercy, the depth of your wounds will not overcome the skilfulness of the "most high' Doctor: on condition that you abandon yourself to him with trust. Make known your evil to the Doctor, and address him with the words of the prophet David: "I will confess to the Lord the sin that is always before me'. In this way, these words will follow: "You have forgiven the ungodliness of my heart'" (Le Catechesi, Rome, 1993, pp. 52-53).

An index of psalm posts is here.

The High Crusade by Poul Anderson

In the year of grace 1345, Sir Roger Baron de Tourneville is gathering an army to join King Edward III in the war against France. A most astonishing event occurs: a huge silver ship descends through the sky and lands in a pasture beside the little village of Ansby in northeastern Lincolnshire.

The alien Wersgorix are quite expert at taking over planets. But this time they're encountering something new; they've launched their invasion against free Englishmen! Sir Roger becomes inspired. He intends for the aliens to fly the ship to help vanquish the infidel. Unexpectedly, they find themselves where no man has gone before.

After reading Three Hearts and Three Lions, I went looking for more from Poul Anderson. This highly entertaining adventure is really imaginative. At the same time the English characters adhere to the correct cultural standards and thoughts of medieval times. It's a nice juggling act, facilitated by having a village priest narrate the story. 

In one sense this is a kissing cousin to A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain but with a lighter hand and a comic tongue in cheek. For example:

"We have one prisoner who speaks Latin -- "

"I would not say that, sire," I interrupted. "His declensions are atrocious, and what he does to irregular verbs may not be described in gentle company."

A fun romp all round!

Mother Teresa in America

Mother Teresa was one of just a few people to be made an honorary US citizen, and Tom and Noëlle Crowe tell us how this modern saint gave her truly Christ-like witness to divine love and the dignity of every life to all Americans–including the the most influential and powerful–on several occasions.

I have enjoyed the American Catholic History since it began. Tom and Noelle Crowe talk about saints old and new and their connection with America. They range from the North American discovery to modern topics like John Wayne, Lawrence Welk, and the making of the movie The Lilies of the Field.

This is a really superb episode, with several lengthy sections of Mother Teresa herself speaking. This link takes you to the website where you can download the podcast or see where else to find this episode which is from a few weeks ago.

Portrait of Helen Gow

Alexander Mann, Portrait of Helen Gow

 

I love this in general but what I really love is that dress. I can't get enough of looking at it. Gorgeous!

Experience is such an honest thing

What I like about experience is that it is such an honest thing. You may take any number of wrong turnings; but keep your eyes open and you will not be allowed to go very far before the warning signs appear. You may have deceived yourself, but experience is not trying to deceive you. The universe rings true wherever you fairly test it.

C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy

This makes me think of young Russell in Up who says, "I didn't expect the wilderness to be so ... wild!" Theory is fine but until you get out there and live some you don't know what is real or honest.

Portrait of a Man

Portrait of a man by João Timótheo da Costa, 1928.

Do we want to be rough stones or part of the heavenly Jerusalem?

You know that you are the living temple of the Holy Spirit. You are to be placed as so many living stones by the God of love in the building of the heavenly Jerusalem. You must expect then to be hewn and cut and chiseled with the hammer and chisel of the Cross. Otherwise you will remain as rough stones that are good for nothing but to be despised and thrown away.

Don't wince under the hammer that strikes you. Have an eye to the chisel that cuts you and to the hand that shapes you. The skillful and loving Architect may wish to make of you the chief stones of his eternal edifice and the fairest statues in his kingdom. Then let him do it. He loves you. He knows what he is doing. He has had experience. All his blows are skillful and straight and loving. He never misses, unless you cause him to by your impatience.

St. Louis de Montfort

We see this sort of message all the time from different saints but the way this is put really hit me just right. I especially love the last point that God won't miss unless we cause him to by our impatience. Yes. That's definitely something for me to keep in mind.