Your Christmas is Most Like ...

Your Christmas is Most Like: A Charlie Brown Christmas

Each year, you really get into the spirit of Christmas. Which is much more important to you than nifty presents.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

Via Quoth the Maven.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Treating Christianity as a Means

As always, 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.

... About the general connection between Christianity and politics, our position is more delicate. Certainly we do not want men to allow their Christianity to flow over into their political life, for the establishment of anything like a really just society would be a major disaster. On the other hand we do want, and want very much, to make men treat Christianity as a means; preferably, of course, as a means to their own advancement, but, failing that, as a means to anything -- even to social justice. The thing to do is to get a man at first to value social justice as a thing which the Enemy demands, and then work him on to the stage at which he values Christianity because it may produce social justice. For the Enemy will not be used as a convenience. Men or nations who think they can revive the Faith in order to make a good society might just as well think they can use the stairs of Heaven as a short cut to the nearest chemist's shop. Fortunately it is quite easy to coax humans round this little corner. Only today I have found a passage in a Christian writer where he recommends his own version of Christianity on the ground that "only such a faith can outlast the death of old cultures and the birth of new civilizations." You see the little rift? "Believe this, not because it is true, but for some other reason." That's the game.

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

I wish it wasn't so easy to look around and see real-to-life examples to plug into the above excerpt.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

An Advent-Eve Story

From Brandywine Books comes this true story ... just a little something to remind us of why we are standing at that window, waiting for the light.

When Marvin was a young teenager (around the 1930s or early ‘40s, I imagine), he asked his father if he could go with the other kids to some entertainment event (he didn’t say what kind). His father said it wouldn’t be appropriate and told him no. Marvin said he was going anyway, and headed out.

“If you go out without my approval,” his father told him as he reached the door, “this house will be locked when you get home, and you’ll have to sleep somewhere else.”

Marvin refused to back down. He left. He enjoyed the event.

That, he said, was the short part of the night.

When he got home he found the house dark, the doors locked. Even that window in the basement that the kids could sometimes work loose was locked tight.

Marvin stood in the dark, thinking about his options. It wasn’t winter, but it was fall and the night was getting cold.

He remembered a sort of loft in the chicken coop which his brother and he had appropriated as a “secret place.” It had a sort of a mattress and a ratty quilt.

He went into the chicken coop and climbed up. The “mattress” was there, but the quilt was gone.

Lacking other options, he lay down on the mattress and curled up in a fetal position. The cold wind blew in through the cracks. The coop stank of chicken droppings. There was no way to sleep. He lay there in the darkness hugging himself, shivering. The hours passed slowly. He wondered if he could make it through the night.

Then, at last, he heard a door open. He heard a creaking sound as someone climbed the board ladder to the loft. Someone put a pillow under his head, lay down and held him close, and pulled a quilt over both of them.

In the darkness, he heard his father say, “Marvin, when I said that if you disobeyed me you’d have to find another place to sleep tonight, I didn’t say that I would sleep inside.”

And so that pastor taught his son the true meaning of the Incarnation.

Wish I’d had a dad like that.

Wait. I do.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Dante to Dead Man Walking ... a couple more lists

I am continuing to work over my Christian classics reading list based on all the intelligent comments, a wonderful email I received, and the lists done at Flos Carmeli and Disputations.

My revised list will be posted later on, as well as the additions to my "To Read" list for the books that just wouldn't fit into the list.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Remember the Saint of the Year Devotion? It's Back!

What is the Saint for the Year Devotion?

I want to tell you about the practice of picking a saint at random to be your “holy protector” for the year. Actually, the saint is the one who chooses us though. The tradition of letting a saint “pick you,” is not a new one. St. Faustina wrote about it in her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul.

I don't draw the saints. I will merely pass on your name or screen name to her so that she will draw a saint for you. Also, I will pass on the name of any of your family or friends that would like to participate. This isn't superstition. St. Faustina did the same thing! Last year dozens of people received saints to be their special patron, and there were miraculous connections. It was truly amazing. We pray that this year the Holy Spirit will again work so that all participants receive a saint that they will be able to pray to for aid throughout the entire year.

Moneybags is offering once more, along with his partner in saint-selection, the chance to have a special saint for the year. St. Vitus and I are drawing to the end of our special year together. I can't say that I experienced anything miraculous (at least that was obvious enough for me to recognize) but there were definitely times when remembering him, this patron saint of good humor and comedy, that helped me be light hearted in situations when I easily could have been quite dour and mean. So ... that is miraculous enough for me!

I'm going to get over there and put in my request and I encourage you to do the same!

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Personal Advent Reading

Watch For The Light: Readings For Advent And Christmas

I just wanted to mention that I took Jean's suggestion for my own personal Advent devotional reading. Since Advent timing can move around a bit, the book begins on November 24 and I began reading it then. So far it has provided a good variety of Christian writing that is wholly in line with an Advent message.

In this week's scripture study our priest reminded us that Advent is not "the great penitence of Lent when one is focused on me, me, me ... on what I do wrong." He told us that we are like watchers at a window, looking out and waiting for the dawn, for the light to come to us. Advent, he told us, is about waiting for Christ to come, not only the historical Jesus, not only the Christ who will come at the end of time, though it is about all those things. Ultimately Advent is about waiting for Christ to come every day in our lives to complete us ... because we are broken and incomplete until he is here. So it is a gentler time of reflection and of a lesser penitence because our focus is on that window, waiting for the light to come to us.

Looking ahead through the book, I saw that, as Jean had mentioned, Martin Luther is the featured writer for December 24. I read it ahead of time to see what was selected since often I have read bits of Luther that have been perfectly straight forward and unexceptional. This, however, was not the case as it became clear that this piece was quite pointed toward a works versus faith argument ... which even if I was in the mood for such a thing on Christmas Eve, is quite out of place in such a setting. So I advise skipping that reading should you pick up the book. However, overall I recommend the book.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Giving Us a Reason to Watch Friday Night Television

Question: I thought Justice had promise. Is it gone forever?
Madeline Bereuter

Answer: On the contrary. Justice has been switched to Friday nights at 7 central, 8 eastern, beginning on Dec. 1. New episodes so far are scheduled for that night and for Dec. 8 and 15. I thought Justice was the strongest of Fox's new fall series, but this already will be its third different night. Expectations are low on Fridays, though, so maybe Justice finally will prevail.

Ask Uncle Barky

Keeping in mind that we don't have cable so we don't see Battlestar Galactica or whatever else is on Friday night television.

We were totally bummed when it seemed that Justice was canceled. The couple of times that Tom has been tricked into watching even he got caught up in the plot, wondering what the real answer was and guessing before we saw the real ending shown at the end of the episodes. It is a real treat to watch Victor Garber thoroughly relish his show-boating role. If you have time in your television schedule, give it a try.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Showing God's Glory Through Life Itself

Continuing to read through Katherine Valentine's series of books (first reviewed here) I find another difference between Valentine and Jan Karon, author of the much loved Mitford series. Although Valentine's books have a more loopy quality to their view of small town life, she is not afraid to tackle the big, difficult questions of our day. I was knocked out by the section where an expectant mother, whose pregnancy is truly a miracle to begin with, must contend with the fact that testing has shown her baby will have a very serious birth defect that will ensure a difficult life and early death. Naturally enough she is tortured by this and even though she has always been against abortion she begins wondering if it wouldn't be more humane than letting her innocent baby suffer. This is a lengthy excerpt but, as I say, I was impressed to find it in what I would normally categorize as a "fluff" book.

Where was God in all of this? What was His purpose? Why would He allow her innocent baby to suffer? If only she could understand, she might come to terms with her child's infirmity, find the courage to go on...

She knew she had no right to ask God to explain. he needn't be accountable to her, but she could not stop asking in the hope that He would give her the glimmer of insight she needed in order to find her way through this dark valley of fear and dread.

She removed a missalette from the back of the pew and turned to the day's reading. It was the story of a blind man whom Jesus healed and His disciples' response. His followers had sought to understand the reason behind the man's infirmity.

"Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?"

Neither this man nor his parents sinned," Jesus said, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."

She closed the book and looked across the sanctuary, lost in thought. It gave her courage to think that even the apostles had asked Jesus to explain why some are born to suffer.

She read the text again.

Jesus stated that the man's blindness was to showcase God's glory. Without the infirmity, there was no reason for the miracle, a miracle that would give people hope and belief in God's infinite compassion down through the millennium.

Slowly her doubts and fears began to give way to insight.

What if God planned someday to use her baby's handicap to bring others to a stronger place of faith? Was there a more precious gift anyone could give this world? ...

Was it possible that through her child's infirmities, others would receive similar hope? Did this mean that God someday might wish to heal her son by way of an instantaneous healing or through a medical discovery that would restore him to health? Anything was possible with God, wasn't it?

Suddenly she was reminded of a sermon Father Keene once had preached. He said that all adversity contained seeds of greatness and that every trial, every heartache, every disappointment or loss, when planted in the fertile soil of God's love, possessed the ability to grow into mountain-moving faith. And through the witness of that faith, others received hope.

Father Keene had said, "We are all born to do our Father's work here on earth, which is to share our faith in Jesus Christ. We do this through the witness of our faith and its power to overcome the world.

"So, when you experience any of life's trials, don't run from them," Father Keene had admonished. "Instead, stand firm and face it squarely, asking 'How have you come to enrich me?'"

Lori pondered these things in her heart, and slowly a spiritual shift began to take place in her soul. Her child was not a victim, a helpless cripple. He was an instrument of God's grace.

A new confidence began to grow. A conviction that somehow God would use this child to enrich His world.

Grace Will Lead Me Home: A Novel by Katherine Valentine

That is a work of fiction but here are some real life testimonies to the truth and power of Valentine's words.

• An excellent book that addresses the issue of quality of life is The Power of the Powerless: A Brother's Legacy of Love by Christopher De Vinck. This book together with the prominence of the Terri Shiavo case are what have had the greatest influence on my opinions about our utter lack of ability to really judge the quality of life for another person.
• The Imperfect are in the Image of God: Adoro te Devote's story of what she learned from working with the mentally and physically disabled.
• I'm not a saint, just a parent: also mentioned in an earlier post, this continues to impress as a father's matter-of-fact story about his family and their five year old son who has Down's Syndrome.
  

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Poetry Thursday

A bit more Kipling for us this week. This is one I'd never seen before but it deserves to be known better.

L'Envoi
by Rudyard Kipling

When Earth's last picture is painted and the tubes are twisted and dried,
When the oldest colours have faded, and the youngest critic has died,
We shall rest, and, faith, we shall need it -- lie down for an aeon or two,
Till the Master of All Good Workmen shall put us to work anew!

And those that were good shall be happy: they shall sit in a golden chair;
They shall splash at a ten-league canvas with brushes of comets' hair;
They shall find real saints to draw from -- Magdalene, Peter, and Paul;
They shall work for an age at a sitting and never be tired at all!

And only the Master shall praise us, and only the Master shall blame;
And no one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fame,
But each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star,
Shall draw the Thing as he sees It for the God of Things as They Are!

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Fantastic Classic Christian Reading Suggestions...

... are to be found in the comments of the Dante to Dead Man Walking Project post. If you have any interest in filling in the gaps in your reading, this is a good place to check out for some excellent advice.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

The Dante to Dead Man Walking Project

Dante to Dead Man Walking: One Reader's Journey Through the Christian Classics
by Raymond A. Schroth, S.J.

Here's the list of books suggested by the author. Books with red titles are not gonna be read by this reader. In some cases I need suggestions, in other cases I have substitutes all lines up.

1. The Book of Genesis: I did a Bible study of this that was a real eye opener. I never knew there was so much depth to Genesis. What a great book!
   


2. The Book of Job: *sigh* ok but I am dreading it. The sadness, the complaining, the moaning ... I'm only going through with reading this one because it's in the Bible. Otherwise, it would be off this list so fast!
   


3. The David Story: A Translation with Commentary of 1 and 2 Samuel by Robert Alter: ok, why not?
   


4. The Gospel of Luke: studied this several times.
   


5. The Gospel of John: studied this several times.
   


6. The Confession by St. Augustine: I have taken three runs at this and always gotten bogged down by the self-pitying chapters about being beaten by tutors and other various problems of growing up. However, I see that Librivox has this coming out soon. That might be the help I need to push me over that hump.
   


7. Inferno by Dante Alighieri: can't wait!
   


8. Butler's Lives of the Saints by Michael Walsh: can't wait!


9. The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis: several versions of this are available on mp3, one is at Maria Lectrix. No problemo.
   


10. The Idea of a University by Ven. John Henry Newman ... at the risk of sounding like Homer Simpson, "Booooring!" C'mon with ideas if you've got some ...
    


11. Walden by Henry David Thoreau: *sigh* ok, but I'm not looking forward to it
    


12. The Second Inaugural Address by Abraham Lincoln: Lincoln's my hero; can't wait!


13. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky: a classic I've been meaning to read for a long time; can't wait!


14. The Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux: it didn't grab me but, again, everyone can't love every single saint
    


15. Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres by Henry Adams: can't wait!
    


16. Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton: another one that I've tried to read several times. Chesterton is just too smart for me. However, I think that Librivox is working on this one also so listening to it may be the easier route.
    


17. Dubliners by James Joyce: I don't like the whole idea of reading James Joyce but ... what the heck. Ok James, surprise me!
    


18. Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset: never heard of it before now so why not.
    


19. Therese by Francois Mauriac: Based on Steven Riddle's comments, I will go with Tangle of Vipers by the same author instead of Therese.
    


20. Death Comes for the Archbishop: this book has been recommended to me many times by people I trust; can't wait!
    


21. Mr. Blue by Myles Connolly: my review is here
    


22. Out of My Life and Thought: An Autobiography by Albert Schweitzer: can't wait!


23. The Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos: can't wait!


24. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene: an alcoholic priest in Mexico; gee there's so much to love about this story. No wonder I've avoided it like the plague all these years. Look's like it's time to pay the piper; I'll give it a shot
    


25. Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey through Yugoslavia by Rebecca West: never heard of it before now so why not
    


26. Brideshead Revisisted by Evelyn Waugh: aaargh! I'll finally be forced to read this book. All I can say is I hope it isn't another Helena (which I detested and yes I know it's a classic, etc.).
    


27. Cry, the Beloved Country by Alex Paton: never heard of it before now; sounds interesting so ok
    


28. The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton: Tried twice, hated it. Yes, you heard me. Hated it. However, I will substitute No Man is an Island by Merton which I think I might like better.
    


29. Letters and Papers from Prison by Dietrich Bonhoeffer: no strong feelings one way or the other so why not.
    


30. The Long Loneliness by Dorothy Day: can't wait!
    


31. The Family of Man by Edward Steichen: photographs, interesting idea. Why not?
    


32. Divine Milieu by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.: can't wait!
    


33. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.: a sci-fi classic that I can't remember if I've ever read ... can't wait!
    


34. Morte D'Urban by J. F. Powers: never heard of it before now so why not
    


35. The Other America by Michael Harrington: the poor in America ... I've only read about this issue until I'm practically blind. I don't think so. I'm open to suggestions for substitutions, preferably fiction.


36. The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis: LOVE C.S. Lewis; can't wait!
    


37. The Historic Reality of Christian Culture: A Way to the Renewal of Human Life by Christopher Dawson: no strong feelings one way or the other so why not.


38. The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor: sure, why not.
    


39. Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr.: I've got nothing against King but I just don't care after reading the description. Suggestions? Preferably fiction.
    


40. Everything That Rises Must Converge, "Revelation" by Flannery O'Connor: dreading it, afraid of O'Connor, but also looking forward to what I might learn ... in a weird way.
    


41. The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley: I'm kind of interested in Malcolm X after listening to Rose talk about him when studying him in American history.
    


42. Silence by Shusaku Endo: no way. If only Schroth hadn't said it was the most depressing book he'd ever read. I don't think so. I'm open to suggestions for substitutions, preferably fiction. This is how much I trust Steven Riddle. I will give it a shot based on his comments and strong recommendation.
    


43. A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, and Salvation by Gustavo Gutierrez: just as I am profoundly disinterested in movements like Opus Dei because I ... well, I just don't care ... I feel the same way about liberation theology. Suggestions for substitutes?


44. The Fate of the Earth by Jonathan Schell: right, because I've never read anything about how we might blow up the earth before now. I don't think so. I'm open to suggestions for substitutions, preferably fiction.
    


45. The Love of Jesus and the Love of Neighbor by Karl Rahner, S.J.: ok, why not.
    


46. In Memory of Her: A Feminist Tehological Reconstruction of Chrsitian Origins by Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza: the title alone gives me the creeps, much less after reading the description - I don't think so. I'm open to suggestions for substitutions, preferably fiction.


47. Black Robe by Brian Moore: if Schroth wanted me to read this he shouldn't have mentioned the extensive mutilation and torture spread throughout the book. No thanks. Substitution ideas, preferably fiction? Again, this is how much I trust Steven Riddle. He says it ain't so bad ... so I'll give it a try.
    


48. Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States by Helen Prejean: oddly enough, probably because of my own internal struggle with this issue, I'm rather interested to see what this book is like.
    


49. The Life of Thomas More by Peter Ackroyd: Peter Ackroyd's a great author; can't wait!
    


50. All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time by Robert Ellsberg: one of the first books I bought after becoming Catholic. It took me a while to notice that the saints Ellsberg includes aren't all canonized or even Christian but it's a good book anyway.
    

Schroth's Extras:

1. The First Jesuits by John W. O'Malley, S.J. ... this one's been on my "to read" list for a while


2. History of Christianity by Paul Johnson ... this one's been on my bookshelf for a year; this is just the thing I need to make me pick it up and read it.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Advent Reading

After looking at all the great ideas, our Perpetua & Felicity Book Club went with a dark horse ... a book that was talked about in glowing tones by member Laura H. So we will be reading the first four castles of Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila (translated by Allison Peers).

We won't be meeting until January after all so this will go through Advent, into Christmas and out the other side. Laura says that the beginning especially lends itself towards examination of conscience so that appealed to everyone, as well as the aspect of sinking our teeth into a Doctor of the Church.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Pope Benedict XVI in Turkey

Of course, right now the big Catholic news is Pope Benedict's trip to Turkey and all the reactions for and against.

Spero News has a special spot set up with a slew of great stories and commentary on this if you want a perspective that is not one of the major network or newspaper takes on it.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Gorgeous Hand-Carved Crucifixes

Every crucifix we carry is carved by hand from linden wood. We have a large selection of sizes and styles: small modern pieces with simplified forms and shapes, as well as large chapel crucifixes with a powerful anatomical structure and a natural portrayal of the dying Christ's corporeality.

The body of each work is made with intricate detail. Every piece is unique and some of them feature a crown of thorns that is fashioned from real thorns. Start a family tradition - give your loved ones a crucifix, because it's the most powerful symbol of Christianity today!

Check out the work at 4crucifix.com. It is truly stunning. They have everything from traditional to modern styles. I showed part of a detail shot above so you can get an idea of how detailed the work is but their photos are much better so go take a look.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Don't Mess With My Time

As always, 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.

Men are not angered by mere misfortune but by misfortune conceived as injury. And the sense of injury depends on the feeling that a legitimate claim has been denied. The more claims on life, therefore, that your patient can be induced to make, the more often he will feel injured and, as a result, ill-tempered. Now you will have noticed that nothing throws him into a passion so easily as to find a tract of time which he reckoned on having at his own disposal unexpectedly taken from him. It is the unexpected visitor (when he looked forward to a quiet evening), or the friend's talkative wife (turning up when he looked forward to a tete-a-tete with the friend), that throw out him out of gear. Now he is not yet so uncharitable or slothful that these small demands on his courtesy are in themselves too much for it. They anger him because he regards his time as his own and feels that it is being stolen. You must therefore zealously guard in his mind the curious assumption "My time is my own." Let him have the feeling that he starts each day as the lawful possessor of twenty-four hours. Let him feel as a grievous tax that portion of this property which he has to make over to his employers, and as a generous donation that further portion which he allows to religious duties. But what he must never be permitted to doubt is that the total from which these deductions have been made was, in some mysterious sense, his own personal birthright.

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Ouch! Guilty as charged and it is odd to me that I never thought about how silly this attitude is until reading about it here. This has been a very good reminder in the past couple of weeks when I've been about to get righteous about interruptions to my plans.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Christian Classics, Finding the Truth, and ... Why I Am Afraid of Flannery O'Connor

Dante to Dead Man Walking: One Reader's Journey Through the Christian Classics
by Raymond A. Schroth, S.J.

But the twenty-first century mind needs Dante's Divine Comedy, specifically its first volume, the Inferno, because Dante's moral vision often contradicts ours and makes us rethink the way we view the world. The Library of Congress lists 2,878 books on Dante, the ninth-largest number on any one person. Critics choosing the books of the millennium for the Times Literary Supplement say that the Inferno is the "greatest of cathedrals, with better gargoyles, and its towers are taller than the world." It "sheds light on every other work of literature written in the West, before and after."

Raymond Schroth makes a compelling case not only for reading Dante but for reading a wide assortment of Christian classic literature from ancient to modern times. Selecting fifty books that raise a moral or religious issue in unforgettable ways, Schroth wrote essays about each to give a sense of both the contents and the reason for inclusion.

I believe I have mentioned before that Rose is working her way through the list of books contained in The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had. (Except for nonfiction books, she always hastens to add.) This has led to many things. Because of her enthusiasm about Uncle Tom's Cabin I wound up reading it, which I certainly had never planned on. Not only that, it has become one of my favorites among the Christian classics. That opened the door to giving other classics a chance that I certainly never would have before such as Mr. Blue and Catholics. However, I haven't found myself interested in pursuing the classics for their own sake. There had to be some other purpose as well. Therefore, I was primed to be open to Schroth's Christian classics reading list with supporting essays.

As is the case with most lists, this one does show Schroth's particular interested. In this case, Schroth is a priest in the Society of Jesus, a.k.a. a Jesuit. Therefore, no regular readers will be surprised to learn that his particular penchant is nonfictional social justice books which I find to be an unimaginative and boring aspect of his list. I was quite disappointed that he didn't have better candidates to offer us for the topics of nuclear war, the death penalty, and so forth.

The Iliad is only great because all life is a battle, the Odyssey because all life is a journey, the Book of Job because all life is a riddle.

G.K. Chesterton

Steven Riddle has written of his surprise at encountering people who find nonfiction so worthwhile as conveyors of truth that they rarely break into fiction at all. He then writes compellingly of the truth that is communicated on many levels by fiction in a way that often is not possible in nonfiction. (Please do go read, I'll wait ...)

I agree completely. Fiction in the right hands can cut deeper than a sword , right to the bone of truth that is too easily obscured in these days of skewed facts and targeted audiences that we find in much of nonfiction. In fact, that searing truth is one of the reasons I am afraid of Flannery O'Connor. Oh, not of her letters, which I definitely plan to read someday. But her fiction is terrifying to many. In fact, when writing to a pal who is all about literature and not at all interested in Christianity, her response was the O'Connor was "too rough, too gruesome" which we see echoed in the excerpt below. And, yet, O'Connor is all too Christian. (Don't stop at the excerpt, do go read the whole thing.)

Still, something's odd about selling Flannery to Christians. Even when people know about her superior technique and Christian frames, they still usually choke after a story or two. Too rough. Too troubling. They're not hard to read, they'll admit, but still, there's all that weirdness and death.

None of her stories, though, turns out to be as gruesome as common PG-13 fare. She places most of the ugliness off screen. Her stories do not fit in horror categories at all. Her use of the grotesque and ugly doesn't delight in power or shock value. All her stories focus on grace, grace, grace. That's what they're about. Every one of them. Real people wrestling with bodily grace.

And that's what disturbs many readers. They don't want their grace black. It feels like an alien faith to them, and they resist it. O'Connor herself heard this complaint. In her essay "The Catholic Novelist in the Protestant South," she argued against that pietism typical of Christian readers: "The reader wants his grace warm and binding, not dark and disruptive."

Here's the rub: her stories might be more palatable to modern Christians if she were just writing shock-jock horror stories. Frank Peretti sells, after all. That sort of writing goes down easier because we don't really believe it. It feels like someone else's world. It's alien enough that we're not truly threatened. But O'Connor's world is too close. And if her picture of dark grace is right, then our typical take on life fails.

Who's Afraid of Flannery O'Connor? (via Summa Mamas)

In considering the ability of fiction versus nonfiction to tell us the truth, it would seem that I have gone far astray from a mere book review. And, yet, I believe that Raymond Schroth would be pleased with that result. Without his book and my disagreement with some of his choices, I never would have pondered that larger picture. Therefore, it already has begun to do what he intended, which is to open our minds to a larger world. For that, and for his suggestions, many of which I welcome, I am quite grateful. In fact, I am going to begin working my way through most of his list, with suitable substitutions for those I don't agree with. That list and my comments will be posted tomorrow. Substitution suggestions will be welcomed.

Needless to say, this book is highly recommended.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

Getting Back to the Bond Essentials

There's no doubt about it, James Bond is back to being a spy instead of a cartoon. This is the James Bond I remember reading about in the Ian Fleming books so long ago. Unsentimental, edgy, stopping at nothing to get the job done.

And yet ... they managed to still keep the movie feeling like the "Bond movie" we expect to see. The opening credits were a brilliant take on the time honored graphics. The opening sequence leading to the credits ... I won't give it away but it was perfectly done. The chase sequence in the beginning was spot-on but nary a space station or huge satellite dish built by a super villain or such thing in sight. In fact, this movie didn't have Q, the quirky inventor of deadly devices, because he wasn't needed. The most that this James Bond needed was a revolver and his quick takes on nearby materials to use. Oh, and maybe the spare defibrillator...

Wait, I take that back. He also needed cell phones. Lots and lots of cell phones. His cell phones. Friends' cell phones. Enemies' cell phones. I never saw so much information gleaned from so many cell phones. But that's ok. How would you get so much product placement in without all those cell phones and computers and automobiles on which to prominently display logos? In fact, the product placement is so shameless that at one point a person says, "That's a nice watch. Rolodex?" "Omega," responds Bond with not so much as a deprecating smile.

However, this Bond movie is worth watching even with all that. This is Bond at the best he has been in a very long time. Welcome back, Mr. Bond.

HC rating: Nine thumbs up.

Persistence in Prayer

If God seems at times to be slow in responding, it is because He is preparing a better gift. he will not deny us. We well know that the long-awaited gift is all the more precious for the delay in its being granted ... Ask, seek, insist. Through this asking and seeking you will be better prepared to receive God's gift when it comes. God withholds what you are not yet ready for. He wants you to have a lively desire for his greatest gifts. All of which is to say, pray always and do not lose heart.

St. Augustine, Sermon 61, 6-7
In Conversation with God,
Vol. Five: Ordinary Time, Weeks 24-34

I think what is difficult to remember from all this, in addition to our innate impatience, is that oftentimes what God is preparing is our own hearts so that what we want is in tune with what He wants. Which definitely makes it worth the wait.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity

What Have We Learned From History?

Not too much, evidently. Be sure to watch to the end. Ripped off from The Crescat.

Know Thyself ... From the Inside Out

YOU: THE OWNER'S MANUAL:
An Insider's Guide to the Body That Will Make You Healthier and Younger by Michael Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet Oz, M.D.

... we want you to think of your body as a home - as your home ... Your bones are the two-by-fours that support and protect the inner structure of your home; your eyes are the windows; your lungs are the ventilation ducts; your brain is the fuse box; your intestines are the plumbing system; your mouth is the food processor; your heart is the water main; your hair is the lawn (some of us have more grass than others); and your fat is all the unnecessary junk you've stored in the attic that your spouse has been nagging you to get rid of. If you can get past the fact that your forehead doesn't have a street number and that a two-story brick Colonial doesn't look all that good in a bathing suit, the similarities are remarkable - so remarkable, in fact, that we believe you can learn about how your body works by thinking about how your house does...

... we want you to take the same approach to basic body maintenance and repairs as you do in your home. You don't call the plumber if you have a little backup in your pipes. You try a plunger, lift the back off the toilet and fiddle with the floating ball, and try to remedy the problem yourself. You don't call the exterminator when you spot a fly in the kitchen. You don't call the electrician if a light bulb burns out. You rely on yourself for maintaining control over how your house ages - because you know that it's less expensive to prevent problems and treat minor ones than let everything deteriorate to the point where your house needs a major overhaul to continue functioning properly.

Ultimately, we want you to get comfortable enough with your own body so that you'll feel confident with basic body maintenance, so that you'll avoid the things that cause the most wear and tear and do the things that best maintain the long-term value of your body...

I wasn't interested in being either healthier or younger when I requested this book from the library. However, I'd heard it was a very easy to understand "how it works" book. No kidding!

I found this book both riveting in the use of simple explanations as well as inspirational in terms of why we should eat a healthier diet and incorporate exercise into daily routine. Using simple analogies, the authors cover every part of the body and explain not only how it works but what it needs for good health. As they mention Each section dispels myths (a good number of which I thought were true) has good illustrations to supplement the written info, and has a "Live Younger Action Plan." The whole "live younger" concept is to get your body's "real age" as good as it can get with moderate exercise, preventive living and a healthy diet. The idea is to make you healthy overall which is what they mean by "live younger." Let's face it, it is a rare American these days whose physical "age" is equal to or less than their birthday. Being overweight or sedentary takes an amazing toll.

They include an easy to remember cheat sheet for both daily exercise and eating guidelines. I, for one, have not been this inspired about physical health since the two day class that I took with Tom after he became diabetic. In fact, for my stretching sessions, Rose is going to begin teaching me yoga ... she is taking a year-long class in school and has the basics down now. That should not only help fulfill my body's need for stretching but also my brain's necessity to learn new things that I wouldn't normally. Oh, and I predict a lot of laughing and time with Rose. Three for the price of one ... not a bad deal at all. Highly recommended.

Here's a sample of one of the self tests that are scattered throughout the book.

Myth or Fact?
You can work out your brain with weights.

Try this self-test: Stand on one leg and close your eyes. The longer you can stand without falling, the younger your brain (fifteen seconds is very good if you are forty-five or older). That balancing act is just one sign of your brain strength. To develop better balance, you should use free weights -- that is, dumbbells and barbells -- because exercising with them works your proprioception (your ability to balance). Weight machines don't have the same effect because the weights re attached to a fixed surface, so you don't develop your balancing abilities as you lift them.

Rose and Tom had fifteen seconds each. I had thirteen seconds.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity