What Happened Here?

In Mountain Meadows, Utah on September 7, 1857.

Aaargh! Apologies to all ... I mistyped and got the date wrong. Based on the comments so far I think that my brother and Rick Lugari are clued in on this incident.

Answer (in invisi-type)
The Fancher party, comprising more than 120 emigrants from Arkansas headed to California by wagon train, was attacked by a party variously described as Paiute Indians acting at the behest of Mormons, or Mormons disguised as Indians, or a combination of Mormons and Indians. The emigrants were besieged for five days; then a group of Mormons promised to lead them to safety. Instead, on September 11, they shot all but seventeen of the emigrants point-blank in what is now called the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The seventeen survivors, all children under five, were distributed among Mormon families. All but one were later recovered by a federal agent.

To Persecute the Church is to Persecute Jesus

I never thought about it this way ... about how it applies to us today.

Those people who claim to approach Christ whilst leaving his Church to one side, and even causing her harm, may one day get the same surprise as Saint Paul did when he was on his way to Damascus: I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. (Acts 9:5) And, the Venerable Bede reflects that He does not say "why are you persecuting my members, but why are you persecuting me?" For He is still affronted in his Body, which is the Church. Paul did not know until that moment that to persecute the Church was to persecute Jesus himself. When he speaks about the Church later on, he does so in words that describe her as the Body of Christ; (1 Cor 12:27) and he describes the faithful as members of Christ's Body. (1 Cor 2:27) It is not possible to love, follow or listen to Christ, without loving, following, or listening to the Church, because she is the presence, at once sacramental and mysterious, of Our Lord, who prolongs his saving mission in the world to the very end of time.

In Conversation With God Vol 4

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Where'd That Word Come From: Armadillo

This peculiar animal -- noted for its distinctive armored appearance -- gets its name from the diminutive form of the Spanish word armado, which means "armed man." The root word is the Latin verb armare, meaning "to arm."

The Word Origin Calendar

Quickest Movie Reviews Ever

DIE HARD
I waited too long to see this and the genre has passed it by. It is sadly dated. I watched for 45 minutes to give it a fair chance, also since I like Alan Rickman and Bruce Willis ... *yawn*. Predictable. The clever lines ... weren't. Next!

JACKIE BROWN
Lauded by critics everywhere. Written and directed by Quinten Tarentino whose movies I'd never seen. Also, it was based on an Elmore Leonard novel, which worked marvelously well for Get Shorty and Out of Sight. Here's more proof (beyond X3) that the director can kill a good premise in a movie. That's another two hours of my life I'll never get back. Too long, story told in an extremely uninteresting way and a complete waste of top notch acting talent.

Update on My Friend Cynthia

Just got this news from someone who saw her this morning.

She has been moved from the ICU to a regular hospital room (#822). They had just gone through a physical therapy session, with Cynthia walking for the first time (with assistance). Her right side is still only at about 70%, which is a great deal better than the 0% of a few days ago. Her angiogram indicates that the blood vessel sealed itself, so surgery may not be necessary. However, a great deal of rehab will be required.

Praise God and keep those prayers coming!

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Second Verse, Same as the First

The socks are done!
Hannah put them on as soon as the last one came off my needles and
I had a difficult time getting her to take them off for this photo. Quite satisfying!

Next up, a pair for Rose using Magic Stripes yarn.

Also, I'm beginning a feather and fan patterned afghan for Hannah to take to school. I'm realistic ... just hoping to get it done before she graduates! I am using Plymouth Encore Worsted because you've gotta be able to throw this in the washer and dryer. She chose Soft Rose for the main color and Cranberry for the contrasting color.

The Whole Scoop on the Holy Grail

Grail Code by Michael Aquilina and Christopher Bailey

I have written about this book fairly frequently so y'all know that I like and recommend it. Upon finishing it, I think that the thing that stands out the most is just how much our age misunderstands the grail story in its entirety, misled by story tellers of long ago who misinterpreted it to suit their times (almost Da Vinci Code style one might say). If you are at all interested in refuting the Da Vinci Code or in the stories of King Arthur and the Holy Grail then you owe it to yourself to get the whole story.

By the way, speaking of the Holy Grail which Valencia has some longstanding claims for, check this out.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Prayer Request for My Friend Cynthia

I was greatly shocked by the news that my friend Cynthia Vasquez is in ICU suffering from an aneurysm. She's a vibrant 30 year old who is loving and giving ... I also have worked with her as a client where she was a dream to work with.

Please pray for her recovery and for her family.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Knit Bit

"Knitting for Britain" was something of an escape from more serious work at a British boarding school during World War II. I suppose therapeutic, perhaps, at a time when life was so tangled. But no one ever thought it odd that a school of 200 boys should be busily whiling away the hours in such an activity as knitting.

"When Knitting Was a Manly Art" by Clinton Trowbridge
from the Christian Science Monitor, December 5, 1997

Get Your Thinking Caps On

From the Mensa Puzzler Calendar.

Find the word that best completes the following sequence.

NINE EIGHT TEN NINETEEN

a) SEVEN
b) TWENTY
c) NINETY

Did I get this? Pfft! No!

ANSWER
Mark Mossa emailed me the answer about 30 seconds after I posted this so I'll go ahead and put it up now...

c) NINETY (each word starts with the last letter of the preceding word).

On Loving Our Enemies

Copying this into my quote journal tonight, I thought of the uproar caused some time ago about a blogger who admitted that she had deliberately passed by a mother and small children whose car was broken down because at the last minute she saw a political sticker she didn't agree with (either Vote Republican or something in support of George Bush ... I can't remember and that isn't the point anyway). Later, I am so happy to say that the blogger repented although many of her commenters were much less praiseworthy in their wholehearted approval of her initial actions.

Then I thought of this post that I read today at The Anchoress. I confess that I didn't go read the original linked commentary because what The Anchoress said made it very clear that this woman was so enraged that she was almost not recognizable as a human through her hatred. I didn't want to read it in the original. I didn't want to sully my mind with words I probably wouldn't be able to forget. Honestly, I felt real pity for that woman who was letting her emotions control her actions so. I am going to pray for her. (You know that prayer by now, right? "Lord have mercy on me and bless her...)

I was going to post this next week but thought that maybe now was a better time. It is a longer version of one of my favorite quotes from one of my very favorite saints ... Augustine ... seems all too appropriate to the situation of the woman who said that her enemy and his child were "no longer human."

Saint Augustine (354-430)
Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church
Commentary on the 1st Letter of John, 8,10

"It is mercy I desire"

In loving your enemy, you want him to be your brother. You do not love in him what he is, but what you want him to be. Let us imagine some oak wood that has not been carved. A capable craftsman sees this wood that has been cut in the forest; he likes the wood. I do not know what he wants to make out of it, but the artist does not love this wood so that it might remain as it is. His art lets him see what the wood can become. He does not love the rough wood; he loves what he will make of it, not the rough wood.

That is how God loved us when we were sinners. For he said: "People who are in good health do not need a doctor; sick people do." Did he love us sinners so that we might remain sinners? The craftsman saw us like a piece of rough wood coming from the forest, and what he had in mind was the work he would draw from there, not the wood from the forest.

It is the same with you: you see your enemy who opposes you, who overwhelms you with scathing words, who is harsh in his insults, who pursues you with his hatred. But you are attentive to the fact that he is a human being. You see everything that this person did against you, and you see in him that he was created by God. What he is as a human being is God's work; the hatred he bears towards you is his own work. And what do you say to yourself? "Lord, be kind to him, forgive his sins, inspire him with fear of you, change him." In this person, you do not love what he is, but what you want him to be. Thus, when you love your enemy, you love a brother.

Via DGO

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

My Itty Bitty Vacation

Tom and Rose are on the long awaited Father-Daughter trip (marking Rose's achievement of becoming 16). They are having a fabulous time in Chicago by all accounts. The art museum blew them away. They took more than 200 photos, talked to most of the guards by all accounts, and I can't tell you the number of times that Tom said, in awed tones, "World class, really world class!" The pizza crust at Uno's also blew them away (how did they get it so light and not bready but still substantial) while the sauce got lower grades. Today they are off for the boat architectural tour as well as other things not yet decided upon by last night.

Meanwhile, I am loafing. Just plain loafing. Begging off a meeting that was requested (which I never do), watching movies with Hannah (how could I have forgotten just how excellent All That Jazz is?), playing Shadows of Amnh for the umpteenth time (if anyone knows of a similar high quality D&D game that will play on the Mac cube puhleeze let me know!), knitting and listening to podcasts. Getting ready to take Hannah shopping for a few college essentials (doesn't everyone need a Hello Kitty body pillow for their dorm bed?). Reading fluff novels until midnight.

How does this differ from my regular routine you might ask? Well, I am not worrying about what to fix for dinner. Or sticking to any routine ... it probably is not all that different but let's just pretend shall we?

Gandhi, Spinning, and Sacrifice

I think of the poor of India every time that I draw a thread on the wheel. For a person suffering from the pangs of hunger, and desiring nothing but to fill his belly, his belly is his God. To him anyone who gives him bread is his master. Through him he many even see God. . . . Therefore I have described my spinning (a daily activity) as a penance or sacrament. And, since I believe that where there is pure and active love for the poor there is God also, I see God in every thread that I draw on the spinning wheel.

Mohandas Gandhi, Khadi, pages 110-111

Heather at CraftLit has a very interesting essay that I found quite thought provoking. She talks about 9/11 and how the only people who seem to be making sacrifices are the soldiers and their families. She is talking about the sort of sacrifices that the average citizen made during WWII and which we all have heard about whether from grandparents, books, or movies. This then segueways into a discussion of Gandhi and how he spun yarn for half an hour every day as a combination of solidarity, service, and penance for impoverished Indians.

You might ask how it is possible to find God through the spinning wheel. . . . One has to learn to efface self or the ego voluntarily and as a sacrifice in order to find God. The spinning wheel rules out exclusiveness. It stands for all, including the poorest. It, therefore, requires us to be humble and to cast away pride completely. When self is shed the change will be reflected in our outward behavior. . . . Everything we do will be undertaken not for little self but for all.

Mohandas Gandhi, Khadi, page 115

This essay was unusual for several reasons. First, CraftLit basically is a knitting podcast so when a knitter begins ranting I lose interest. It is inevitably about something like the fact that someone has called knitting a hobby or some such other thing that I feel is being way too touchy.

Second, as you can imagine the idea of performing a service as a penance and offering it for others perked up my ears because that entire concept is so Catholic. Then when I heard about the humbling effect of spinning for others I knew it was Catholic ... yes, expressed by someone who wasn't Christian, but it is one of those common splinters of truth that God spreads throughout the world. To hear it coming from Gandhi and then being pulled around and applied to us in the war on terror was fascinating. (And she's right, y'all.)

To find God one need not go out anywhere. He resides in our hearts. But if we install self or ego there we dethrone God. . . . Although He is the King of kings, Most High, Almighty, yet He is at the beck and call of anyone who has reduced himself to zero and turns to Him in uttermost humility of spirit. Let us then become poor in spirit and find Him within ourselves.

Mohandas Gandhi, Khadi, page 115

Third, it actually inspired me to go to the blog and read Heather's 9/11 story (which I strongly encourage y'all to do). She was right in the middle of 9/11, being a teacher at the time in a school that was in the shadow of the World Trade Center. It is a harrowing tale. I also read the piece linked to about Gandhi and spinning which was quite good.

If you download Episode 11 (which you can do on iTunes or from the CraftLit blog) just listen to the part where she gets on her "soapbox."

I do want to mention that this podcast would be good for anyone who is interested in literature. Although I have described it as a knitting podcast, it doesn't really have a lot of knitting content. There is a bit at the beginning and then the rest is given over to chapters of an audiobook. The idea is that it is something good to listen to while knitting (or washing the floor, folding laundry, driving, etc. ... which are also things we can offer to God ... though whether as prayer or penance depends on how much you might dislike those tasks!).

I find that one of the most enjoyable parts is listening to Heather's commentary on what happened in the last chapters and teasers about what is upcoming in the current episode. She is quite enthusiastic and that makes the book all the more enjoyable. Currently, she is presenting Pride and Prejudice but has been entertaining suggestions as to the next book which range from Tom Sawyer to Tristan and Iseult. If you are at all interested in such things, do go give it a try ... who knows when the next time is that Heather will break loose and give us a good, thought provoking rant? You don't want to miss that, do you? I didn't think so!

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

The De-Deification of the American Faithscape

Very rarely do I regret not having cable. Watching this clip of Steven Colbert is one of those times. This is hilarious not only for his comment about "the one true faith" but just all round.

Via Mormon2Catholic whose own commentary on all this is well worth reading (welcome back girl, we've missed ya!).

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

What a Puzzler!

From the Mensa Puzzle Calendar.

Our local toy store prices its merchandise according to the owner's whim. A doll costs 70 cents, a train costs 80 cents, a drum costs 70 cents, and a dollhouse costs $1.40. According to this system, how much will a jumping jack cost?

Answer:
$1.90 (vowels are worth 10 cents; consonants are worth 20 cents).

God Did Not Spare His Own Son For Us

This month's Word Among Us articles are all written by one of my favorite homilists, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, who I believe is preacher to the papal household. Everything he says always has such a weight of truth, reality, and beauty for me. You can go read all three articles online but here is an excerpt, lengthy to be sure, from the one I read this morning about the mystery of God's love for us.

“My Father Was Holding Me.” A child who is certain of his Father’s love will grow up strong, secure, happy, and free for life. God’s word wants to do this for us. It wants to restore this security to us. Our solitude in this world cannot be overcome except by faith in God the Father’s love.

Observe a child walking with his father, holding his father’s hand, or being swung around by him, and you will have the best picture of a happy, free child, full of pride. I read somewhere that once an acrobat did a stunt on the top floor of a skyscraper; he leant out as far as he could possibly go, supporting himself on the bare tips of his toes and holding his small child in his arms. When they came down, someone asked the child if he had been afraid, and the child, surprised at the question, answered, “No. My father was holding me!”

God’s word wants us to be like that child. And reminding us that God did not spare his own Son for us, St. Paul cries out joyfully and victoriously, “If God is for us, who is against us? . . . Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:31-37). And Jesus tells us therefore to free ourselves of fear, of all cowardice, of all discouragement. Your Father knows you and your Father loves you, Jesus says. You were not given the spirit of slaves, to fall back into fear, but the spirit of children to cry out: Abba, Father!

Absolute Trust. Before such an incomprehensible love it comes spontaneously to us to turn to Jesus and ask him: “Jesus, you are our elder brother; tell us what we can do to be worthy of so much love and suffering on the Father’s part?” And from the height of his cross, Jesus answers us: “There is,” he says, “something you can do, something I also did, for it pleases the Father: Have confidence in him, trust him against everything, against everyone, against yourselves. When you are in darkness and distress, when difficulties threaten to suffocate you and you are on the point of giving up, pull yourself together and cry aloud, ‘Father, I no longer understand you but I trust you!’ And you will find peace again.”

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Ladies, I Highly Recommend ...

... that if you happen to be in a bookstore and see this edition of Rolling Stone, just pick it up and turn to page 48. Now, there's a sight that'll take your breath away.

Rose is considering putting it on her wall. I might have to start tucking in her in at night again.

UPDATE
Here is Jeffrey Overstreet's review. I'd go see the movie this weekend but will wait until Rose and Tom come back from Chicago.

At the Movies: Quick Reviews

CARS
Everyone knows the story to Pixar's latest hit, right? Hot shot racing rookie Lightning McQueen is on his way to ultimate fame and glory at a race in California. However, he accidentally gets derailed and winds up in Radiator Springs, once a bustling town on Route 66, but little more than a ghost town populated by a few die hard citizens. Yes, the story is predictable. However, it is told so well and with such loving attention to the details (I did say it is a Pixar movie, right?), that predictability doesn't matter in the least. I have heard critics bemoaning the two-hour run time and a slow beginning. We noticed none of those things. By the way, his is where it helps to have a car buff sitting beside you through the movie to point out all the clever details. As with all Pixar flicks be sure to stay until the credits are done. Especially watch the fun they have with the cars at the drive in while the credits are running. Genius, pure genius! (HC rating: Nine thumbs up!)

BOTTLE ROCKET
A sweet and light hearted little movie, this is the one that launched the Wilson brothers and Wes Anderson. Owen Wilson plays the relentlessly intent leader of a group of quirky losers who plans a heist and can't see how absurd his plans are. Along the way the group falls under the tutelage of a real crime boss (James Caan). Meanwhile, the other members of the group are learning to deal with love and family members in their own ways. I can't really communicate just how goofy and funny this movie was but we all loved it. (HC rating: Good despite lack of flubber)

SHAOLIN SOCCER
A perfect balance of the absurd and sincere, Shaolin Soccer is the story of an old, lame soccer player who wants to coach and teams up with a young, intense man (Steel Leg) who wants to show that Shaolin Kung Fu can make life better for everyone ... oh, and he also needs work. They gather together Steel Leg's old kung fu brothers and embark on a journey to win the soccer championship against the local reigning champions (need I add that they are evil?). This movie somehow pulls off a sort of wacky cartoonish quality at the same time as sincerely telling a good story. Complete with Hollywood movie references, really funny lines at unexpected times, fantastical martial arts, and unworldly powers, this movie should not be missed. One caveat, the captioning is truly off at times, with such problems as "bald" being consistently spelled "blad" and "the soccer ball" being called "the soccer." However, this is not enough to detract from the magic of this tale which we loved. Now, I can't wait to rent Kung Fu Hustle, also by this director. (HC rating: Nine thumbs up!)

INSIDE MAN
Watching this riveting movie made me wish that Spike Lee made more "big hit, mainstream" movies. The trailers sold this all wrong. It really is about watching smart hostage negotiator Denzel Washington play a game of wits with crime mastermind Clive Owen (who never looked better, by the way). We don't know Owen's plan until the very end but our family was thinking out loud with Washington the whole time. This movie takes us for a great ride with a smart plot, great acting, and a welcome lack of violence along the way. The "R" rating is for liberal use of language. (HC rating: Nine thumbs up!)

Trailers that caught our eye...
Most of the trailers that we saw with Cars looked downright bad. "Flicka" especially enraged me as I loved that book as a child and to put a girl in the lead instead of the original boy is the height of political correctness. Aaargh!

However, these two looked good enough that we'll be checking out the reviews when they come out.

• Invincible
• Monster House

That Imbalance Rooted in the Heart of Man

"They begged him to leave their neighborhood"

The modern world shows itself at once powerful and weak, capable of the noblest deeds or the foulest; before it lies the path to freedom or to slavery, to progress or retreat, to brotherhood or hatred. Moreover, man is becoming aware that it is his responsibility to guide aright the forces which he has unleashed and which can enslave him or minister to him. That is why he is putting questions to himself.

The truth is that the imbalances under which the modern world labors are linked with that more basic imbalance which is rooted in the heart of man. For in man himself many elements wrestle with one another. Thus, on the one hand, as a creature he experiences his limitations in a multitude of ways; on the other he feels himself to be boundless in his desires and summoned to a higher life. Pulled by manifold attractions he is constantly forced to choose among them and renounce some. Indeed, as a weak and sinful being, he often does what he would not, and fails to do what he would (cf. Rom 7:14ff.). Hence, he suffers from internal divisions and from these flow so many and such great discords in society...

Nevertheless, in the face of the modern development of the world, the number constantly swells of the people who raise the most basic questions or recognize them with a new sharpness: What is man? What is this sense of sorrow, of evil, of death, which continues to exist despite so much progress? What purpose have these victories purchased at so high a cost? What can man offer to society; what can he expect from it? What follows this earthly life?

The Church firmly believes that Christ, who died and was raised up for all (cf. 2 Cor 5:15), can through his Spirit offer man the light and the strength to measure up to his supreme destiny. Nor has any other name under the heaven been given to man by which it is fitting for him to be saved (cf. Acts 4:12). She likewise holds that in her most benign Lord and Master can be found the key, the focal point and the goal of man as well as of all human history. The Church also maintains that beneath all changes there are many realities which do not change and which have their ultimate foundation in Christ, who is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever (cf. Heb 13:8).

Second Vatican Council
Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes), 9-10
Via DGO

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

God Bless America, Land That I Love

Happy birthday, USA!

Some good holiday reading can be found at:

• ... and if not ...
• penni, for your thoughts
• SFO Mom
• Sigmund, Carl, and Alfred

Good holiday listening can be found at:

• Maria Lectrix where Maureen treats us to The Man Without a Country by Edward Everett Hale. I have never, ever forgotten this story, read long ago in school. It made a huge impact on me and if you have never come across it you are in for a treat.