The 2006 Weblog Awards - Nominations Open

This has to be the most comprehensive blog awards ever ... just take a look at those categories. I found several very good blogs through the nominees' and winners' links last year so I'll let y'all know when they've sorted through everything and have the voting open.

I seem to remember that last year The Anchoress was nominated and also Flos Carmeli. And if not, well, they should have been!

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

My Signal Graces Today

I can't remember where I read about "signal graces" and now that I have gone looking around the internet I can't find a definition. As I understand it signal graces are sent by God to help us to make the right decisions in life. And my understanding is that they often appear in threes. I often think of them as those little markers to help keep us on the right path ... and I need three just to get my attention!

I've been so busy lately making hay while the sun shines on our little graphics farm that I haven't had the brain power to read anything but fluff. Now, I do try to make it good fluff, which is why I'm in the middle of Grace Will Lead Me Home, which is the third in Katherine Valentine's series of the Mitford gone Catholic books.

[Signal the first] This morning I was struck by one of the characters who began to pray about someone's car trouble, saying that there was no detail of life that God doesn't care about. Of course, I know this, but knowing and living something can be very different. I took it to heart, thinking of how tired and stressed I felt ... knowing that I can't be perfect but not wanting to take it out on those around me ... trying to live in the here-and-now instead of worrying about not making the deadline after Thanksgiving, about possibly having to work on Thanksgiving weekend when Hannah will be home for the first time since going to college ... and all that jazz.

Thinking back now, it strikes me that on the way to drop off Rose and the carpool gang at school I asked my guardian angel to give me some tips, give me a lift ... help me through the day.

As always, after they were dropped off, I turned on today's episode from pray-as-you-go. My mind kept drifting and I had to keep turning it back so I'd actually focus on the prayer instead of the long list of things that kept popping to the fore. I'm certainly glad I made the effort because [Signal the second] the final words told me to talk to Jesus, to tell Him whatever was on my mind, whatever was making me happy or worried. I suddenly thought of what I had read earlier and thought of all that work, stress, worry. So I told Him all those little details ... and asked for grace to live in the moment more. And then I moved on with my day.

Suddenly, my day was going better. An extra person had a lull and was able to help with some of the catching up ... I am not so tired now and the stress is gone ... not a small part of which I attribute to anybody who has seen my mention in the prayer request list and offered a prayer (which I so appreciate).

So I had a few minutes at lunch and was crusing a few blogs (man cannot live by work alone you know!) and [Signal the third] saw what Owen wrote.

... I can't tell you about the nature of it but know this, if you are needing a reminder that God cares for you in the smallest of details, please, let this be that reminder.

Eureka! That was the tap on the head that pulled it all together for me ... and I could see in my mind's eye the humorous smile that God was giving me with this one.

Once again I am so thankful for a God who cares about the smallest details and will go to such lengths just to get me to come to Him with my needs. Not to mention my guardian angel who is always with me and always looking upon God ... here to help us along.

Now ... I'm back to that hay field. This big project should be over in a couple more weeks ... I have numerous commentaries about books, tv, movies, etc. but they'll have to wait ...

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Poetry Thursday

We pause in the weekly presentation of Rose's poetry to present one of her very favorite poems by another author.

The Female of the Species
By Rudyard Kipling

WHEN the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride,
He shouts to scare the monster, who will often turn aside.
But the she-bear thus accosted rends the peasant tooth and nail.
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.

When Nag the basking cobra hears the careless foot of man,
He will sometimes wriggle sideways and avoid it if he can.
But his mate makes no such motion where she camps beside the trail.
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.

When the early Jesuit fathers preached to Hurons and Choctaws,
They prayed to be delivered from the vengeance of the squaws.
'Twas the women, not the warriors, turned those stark enthusiasts pale.
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.

Man's timid heart is bursting with the things he must not say,
For the Woman that God gave him isn't his to give away;
But when hunter meets with husbands, each confirms the other's tale—
The female of the species is more deadly than the male.

Man, a bear in most relations—worm and savage otherwise,—
Man propounds negotiations, Man accepts the compromise.
Very rarely will he squarely push the logic of a fact
To its ultimate conclusion in unmitigated act.

Fear, or foolishness, impels him, ere he lay the wicked low,
To concede some form of trial even to his fiercest foe.
Mirth obscene diverts his anger—Doubt and Pity oft perplex
Him in dealing with an issue—to the scandal of The Sex!

But the Woman that God gave him, every fibre of her frame
Proves her launched for one sole issue, armed and engined for the same;
And to serve that single issue, lest the generations fail,
The female of the species must be deadlier than the male.

She who faces Death by torture for each life beneath her breast
May not deal in doubt or pity—must not swerve for fact or jest.
These be purely male diversions—not in these her honour dwells—
She the Other Law we live by, is that Law and nothing else.

She can bring no more to living than the powers that make her great
As the Mother of the Infant and the Mistress of the Mate.
And when Babe and Man are lacking and she strides unclaimed to claim
Her right as femme (and baron), her equipment is the same.

She is wedded to convictions—in default of grosser ties;
Her contentions are her children, Heaven help him who denies!—
He will meet no suave discussion, but the instant, white-hot, wild,
Wakened female of the species warring as for spouse and child.

Unprovoked and awful charges—even so the she-bear fights,
Speech that drips, corrodes, and poisons—even so the cobra bites,
Scientific vivisection of one nerve till it is raw
And the victim writhes in anguish—like the Jesuit with the squaw!

So it comes that Man, the coward, when he gathers to confer
With his fellow-braves in council, dare not leave a place for her
Where, at war with Life and Conscience, he uplifts his erring hands
To some God of Abstract Justice—which no woman understands.

And Man knows it! Knows, moreover, that the Woman that God gave him
Must command but may not govern—shall enthral but not enslave him.
And She knows, because She warns him, and Her instincts never fail,
That the Female of Her Species is more deadly than the Male.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Infinite Greatness Through Small Things

The smallest tasks can take on infinite value when we offer them to God, when we carry them out as works of God. Holy ambition strives for greatness even in little things, but it is content with the earthly results that God wills or permits.

Thus, we can live with holy ambition even if our professional prospects are few. In holy ambition, there is none of the anxiety, disappointment, and dissatisfaction that cling to men and women as they strive to climb the corporate or social ladder. Holy ambition hopes for great things, but contents itself with whatever God wills. St. Josemaria urged Christians: "Do not lose that holy ambition of yours to lead the whole world to God, but ... remember that you too have to be obedient and work away at that obscure job, which does not seem at all brilliant, for as long as God asks nothing else of you. He has His own times and paths."

Ordinary Work, Extraordinary Grace by Scott Hahn

The Bible is full of examples of this very thing, culminating in the Holy Family's example. God uses holy garbagemen, store clerks, toll road workers, etc. just as much as He ever did a carpenter and housewife from an obscure town. The question is, as I suppose it always is, can we be holy in our places through the small things as were Mary, Joseph and Jesus?

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Jeremiah, tell me 'bout the fire ...

... come stir up these coals in my soul, in my soul
till it burns out of control

More info is in the comments box.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

A Sweet Story of Love for Christmas

CHRISTMAS TURTLES by Sara Ann Denson

This is a charming book about a grandmother's love for her grandchildren told from the children's point of view. The children experience the annual magic of having "Christmas turtles," (the candy) show up in the freezer. Is it made by elves? By Santa? As it turns out, the candy is made by Grandmother and as the children watch how it is made they come to realize how much she loves them. The book comes with a recipe and a wooden spoon so you can get to work on your own holiday turtle tradition after reading it.

I happen to know that if we had this book when the girls were younger we'd have been making Christmas turtles every year. As it is, a certain young lady of my acquaintance will be receiving this book for Christmas (get that apron on, Little John!).

Highly recommended.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Let's Get Real

It's the little things that count, even for God. For in our attention to little things, we imitate Him most perfectly. Our God is the master of the universe, whose mind and power are evident in the formation of the Himalayas, but also in the movement of subatomic particles. And He doesn't move mountains without moving a whole lot of electrons in the process!

Thus, there is a hidden grandeur in the most ordinary things. St. Josemaria saw this, and he had little patience for those would-be saints with romantic inclinations who saw ordinary life as merely an obstacle to true greatness. He called this attitude "mystical wishful thinking." We should not sit around whining: "If only I hadn't married; if only I had a different job or qualification; if only I were in better health; if only I were younger; if only I were older." Instead, St. Josemaria said, we should "Turn to the most material and immediate reality" -- and get to work.

Ordinary Work, Extraordinary Grace by Scott Hahn

The desire to wish "if only" is one that is so easy to fall prey to. If you have as active an imagination as I do it can slow you down to doing nothing. I think that some of the best advice I ever read (and followed) was to rein in my imagination and focus on the here and now instead of indulging my imagination thinking about possible bad things that could happen or wishing my life away on things that were highly unlikely to occur.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Advent Reading Suggestions?

Yes, it's a bit early to be thinking of this. However, I am trying to think of something for our Catholic women's book club to read during December. I have some ideas but am specifically looking for something:

• Short enough to be read in a month.
• Widely available so everyone can pick it up from a major bookstore ... or something that we can access online.
• Suitable for Advent reading

We may wind up simply beginning a larger work that will be discussed over a few months but I thought I'd see what ideas anyone out there has.

By the way, if any local readers are interested in coming to this book club, they are welcome. Just email me for the information (julie [at] glyphnet [dot] com).

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Kent Brockman here ...

... with the best one line election summary yet. Via Dom.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Poetry Thursday

Parents

Walking contradictions
Never making sense
"Because I said so"
In their defense
The statement spreads all over
Appearing like a cancer
Weren't they ever told?
"Because" isn't an answer!

Rose Davis

I read this and looked at Rose who hastened to say, "You never used that answer ..."

Dang right we never did ... for that very reason.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Screwtape on Pleasure

Our Catholic women's book club is reading The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. I read this long ago when I was in high school and, although I recognized it as being very cleverly written, since I wasn't a Christian the full meaning was appreciated but not felt If you know what I mean.

I am now struck by Lewis' depth of perception and really think that all Christians should read this book every year or two as it is so full of good insights about how to live our every day lives as Christians.

In the following excerpt, keep in mind that this was written during World War II as a series of letters being written by a senior demon advising his nephew on how best to gain souls. Therefore the perspective is topsy-turvy. For example, "The Enemy" is God and "Our Father" is the devil.

... Never forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and normal and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, on the Enemy's ground. I know we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the same, it is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one. All we can do is to encourage the humans to take the pleasures which our Enemy has produces, at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which He has forbidden. Hence we always try to work away from the natural condition of any pleasure to that in which it is least natural, least redolent of its Maker, and least pleasurable. An ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure is the formula. It is more certain; and it's better style. To get the man's soul and give him nothing in return -- that is what really gladdens Our Father's heart...

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Secretary of Defense ... Gig 'Em!

Robert M. Gates, 63, a national security veteran, family friend and currently president of Texas A&M University, would be nominated to replace Rumsfeld.

AP Wire

My reporter in the field got first hand information on this in the form of an email from Gates.

By the time you read this, the President of the United States will have announced that he will nominate me to be the next Secretary of Defense. I am deeply honored, but also deeply saddened.

As most of you know, almost two years ago I declined an opportunity to become the first Director of National Intelligence. I did so principally because of my love for Texas A&M and because much of the program we had initiated to take A&M to a new level of excellence had only just started...

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Mac and PC Ads

I keep meaning to bring this ad campaign up.

They're pretty entertaining and make the point in a low key way ... looks like Mac is finding a way to capitalize on iPod's coolness. These are some of the very few ads that we will back up the VCR to watch when we're fast forwarding past commercial breaks ... and we watch everything on tape ya know.

And, as long time Mac users, we knew they were cool the whole time ...

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Meanwhile, Try These Cream Biscuits

You can get this essential and simple recipe, right here.

Find a Penny, Pick It Up

I have seen this modern day parable/reminder around before, most recently at A Wing and a Prayer. Corny as it seems, it has been some time since I've seen a penny lying on the ground without "getting the message" and that usually lightens my day. So I'm passing it along to y'all.

You always hear the usual stories of pennies on the sidewalk being good luck, gifts from angels, etc. This is the first time I've ever heard this twist on the story. Gives you something to think about.

Several years ago, a friend of mine and her husband were invited to spend the weekend at the husband's employer's home. My friend, Arlene, was nervous about the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on the waterway and cars costing more than her house. The first day and evening went well, and Arlene was delighted to have this rare glimpse into how the very wealthy live.

The husband's employer was quite generous as a host, and took them to the finest restaurants. Arlene knew she would never have the opportunity to indulge in this kind of extravagance again, so she was enjoying herself immensely!

As the three of them were about to enter an exclusive restaurant that evening, the boss was walking slightly ahead of Arlene and her husband. He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment. Arlene wondered if she was supposed to pass him. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped and a few cigarette butts.

Still silent, the man reached down and picked up the penny He held it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure! How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up?

Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at her. Finally, she could stand it no longer! She causally mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value.

A smile crept across the man's face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see. She had seen many pennies before! What was the point of this?

"Look at it," he said. "Read what it says."

She read the words, "United States of America."

"No, not that; read further."

"One cent?"

"No, keep reading."

"In God we Trust?"

"Yes!"

"And?"

"And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States' coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust Him.

"Who am I to pass it by? When I see a coin, I pray, I stop to see if my trust IS still in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him. For a short time, at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God's way of starting a conversation with me.

"Lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are plentiful!"

When I was out shopping today, I found a penny on the sidewalk. I stopped and picked it up, and realized that I had been worrying and fretting in my mind about things I cannot change.

I read the words, "In God We Trust," and had to laugh. Yes, God, I get the message.

It seems that I have been finding an inordinate number of pennies in the last few months, but then, pennies are plentiful!

And, God is patient.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Dorsetville = Mitford - Sappiness + Catholicism

A MIRACLE FOR ST. CECILIA'S
by Katherine Valentine

Most people know of the books about Father Tim set in the tiny mountain town of Mitford by Jan Karon. Featuring a lovably eccentric crew of regular characters, they explore faith as Father Tim goes about ministering to his little Episcopalian flock through the trials and joys of daily life. However, they are something of a guilty pleasure for me as the level of sappiness is enough to put a diabetic into sugar shock and there is a definite air of unreality since every other person in town seems to have a lot of money tucked away ... so handy in case of emergencies. This doesn't keep me from reading these books as I have grown quite fond of Father Tim and environs. It simply propels me to seek out possible alternatives. (The first book in the Mitford series is At Home In Mitford.)

The Anchoress pointed me toward this book by Katherine Valentine as a Catholic alternative to the Mitford books. I was delighted and partway through the second chapter when Steven Riddle sounded a warning about the soundness of the Catholicism contained therein ... which he later retracted for reasons you can read here. His warning to remain vigilant was largely unnecessary for me. Expanding on Fr. B's wise advice in RCIA ("don't get your theology from movies or television") I quickly learned that one must be discerning about reading a new author no matter how "Catholic" the comments trumpeted on the book jacket. As a new Catholic I eagerly went to the bookstore and became more and more shocked as I looked over the books by Garry Wills, Sr. Joan Chittister, et al, and discovered that there was a loudly dissenting arm of the Church that I had struggled so much to enter in full faithfulness.

At any rate, I plucked this book from the "return to library" stack where I had deposited it upon reading Steven's first warning (I simply don't have time to spend reading junk) and began reading again. I am certainly glad that I did.

Set in the small town of Dorsetville, where residents have fallen on hard times since the wool mill closed, we see Father James struggling with a very modern problem. The bishop plans to close the church right after Easter because it can't support itself any more and has a huge burden of debt. This will leave the many elderly and needy parishioners without any nearby support. Meanwhile, we are introduced to locals with a variety of problems ranging from a teenager suspended from school because of computer hijinks to a young family fighting cancer.

Valentine's writing is less sentimental than Karon's and the characters, though with the requisite eccentric folks included, include many who are simply real people struggling with the same often overwhelming problems that many of us face. I particularly enjoyed the way that one woman found God's message of hope while praying in the church. It echoed the real life stories that I have heard time and again from trusted friends. Another point I appreciated is Valentine's inclusion of real angels at one point, as well as the reactions of the person who saw them. She is not afraid to use all the methods that God speaks to people in her work and it is handled quite well.

Valentine also painted a realistic scenario with the seemingly insurmountable plight of Father James in trying to figure out how to save the church or provide realistic alternatives for his flock. His realization that he has strayed from trust in God to trying to do everything himself is one that is echoed in various ways by other characters throughout the book. When reading Valentine's afterward and her reasons for writing the book it becomes even more understandable that that specific message is true to life.

However, I did look in vain for any mention of the one thing that sets a Catholic church and, indeed, the Catholic faith apart from others. There were a few mentions of the Mass but none that I could see of the Eucharist. When Father James reinstates morning Mass it is done to return the old folks' much needed routine and give them a sense of purpose in their lives. There is no mention of that touch of grace provided by receiving the Eucharist at the Mass. Similarly, when he goes to visit a cancer patient, Father James does not take him the Eucharist. He simply goes to visit and winds up cleaning the kitchen. And so it goes throughout the book. I realize this is straining at a gnat for some. However, all true Catholicism comes from that one central point which is the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus present in the Eucharist. Any Catholics as devout as those portrayed would not ignore that fact even if it were to be portrayed in a fleeting thought. In this way, Valentine does lean more toward portraying the trappings of Catholicism (rosary, statues, etc.) in a sort of Episcopalianism as Steven Riddle mentioned.

The above mentioned problem is not at all reason to avoid the book. On the contrary, I thoroughly enjoyed it and stayed up much too late for several nights in a row, racing to see the conclusion. Valentine handles her plotlines and characters very well indeed. Before I finished I had requested the sequel from the library. Highly recommended.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Sure, you can use a tennis ball on a string ...

... but that solution has a distinct lack of lasers. Thanks to Tom for this little bit of geek heaven.

Gargoyle Central: Look to the Skies

Anyone who has been to my house knows that I love gargoyles. Our living room table sports a gargoyle engrossed in a book, a Green Man hangs on a connecting wall and our guest bathroom has a little gargoyle keeping away the bad spirits in there.

Naturally I was delighted to find Monster Walks which highlights some good gargoyle walks in New York. Not that I'll be there any time soon but I thoroughly enjoyed the photos.

As happened after reading The Cloudspotter's Guide, this is another reminder to me that we look down too much and forget to look up. I can't tell you how often lately I have been enjoying the various cloudscapes as they have scudded across the skies on an otherwise unremarkable morning. There is not much chance of spying gargoyles in Dallas but you can be sure I'll be glancing upwards more often just in case.

I found this site via this delightful Dallas Morning News article (free registration required) which also informed me that:

A gargoyle is a drainpipe, even a plain one, its name taken from the French word gargouille, meaning throat. In common usage, people refer to any ornamental architectural carving as a gargoyle.

Interesting. Maybe "gargle" came from gargouille also?

If There Was No Purgatory, We'd Have to Invent It

So often Heaven is spoken of in Scriptures as being a great feast. I like to think of that. All of us hallooing down the table to friends who we just have seen, everybody as happy as they could possibly be, having a wonderful time at this blowout celebration.

But before the celebration, we have to clean up (yes, behind the ears too), put on our finest clothes and properly adorn ourselves ... and that is where purgatory comes in, as our dear Papa points out to us.

I would go so far as to say that if there was no purgatory, then we would have to invent it, for who would dare say of himself that he was able to stand directly before God. And yet we don't want to be, to use an image from Scripture, "a post that turned out wrong," that has to be thrown away; we want to be able to be put right. Purgatory basically means that God can put the pieces back together again. That he can cleanse us in such a way that we are able to be with him and can stand there in the fullness of life. Purgatory strips off from one person what is unbearable and from another the inability to bear certain things, so that in each of them a pure heart is revealed and we can see that we all belong together in one enormous symphony of being.

Pope Benedict XVI

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Jack, the Depressed Pumpkin

Father Roderick has put together a really wonderful Halloween movie. And, being the good movie maker that he is, Fr. R. made sure it can be viewed beyond Halloween ... even on to All Souls Day!

The movie stars Jack, a pumpkin with a severe Halloween depression. He visits a shrink, but the nightmares keep coming back, despite the tranquilizers. Jack ends up in the gutter after a night of booze, drugs and partying. Who can help him?

Via The Curt Jester.