Tuesday, August 21, 2007

An Early Happy Birthday to Hannah

Hannah's birthday is tomorrow but she'll be spending the entire day in a retreat so I'm putting up this post of the things she loves best ... nope, not cake ... simply lots and lots o' critters.

Happy birthday and we miss you, Hannah!

Cat Closeup

Pelican

That Was Unexpected

Your Score: Phoenician

You scored

You are the Phoenician Alphabet! Teacher of the Greeks and Etruscans, you are the one all languages bow down to. That is, until the Romans decide to wipe out your civilization. That's the way the cookie crumbles.

Link: The Which Ancient Language Are You Test written by imipak .

Via Linear B (a.k.a. Books, Words, and Writing).

Monday, August 20, 2007

Weekend? What Weekend?

It was one of those weekends which had every minute packed full of activity.

On Friday, Hannah and her friend Jenny (whose birthdays are only one day apart) threw themselves a party. That decision was made on Wednesday afternoon so I was busy during Friday afternoon grocery shopping, making the cake, and cooking Mexican food (very basic stuff, believe me).

Saturday was our family celebration of Hannah's birthday (which is Wednesday) which necessitated other sorts of shopping. Luckily she didn't really want anything that required me braving the tax-free school shopping crowds that day. As well, we were doing last minute preparations for her to return to school on Sunday (hence the early birthday celebration). We went out to Tong's House for Hannah's favorite duck and then had gala gift opening topped off by a viewing of Hot Fuzz (one of her gifts).

Sunday Tom and I drove Hannah back to A&M at College Station where we were relieved to see that her dorm was a lot better than last year. (This year she's in FHK. Last year she was in Hart. Just for anyone who knows the campus and cares.) She's rooming with a friend and is near a lot of her other friends. All in all, so much better than when we left that new freshman last year who had the abandoned look on her face as we walked away.

Not that I'm not feeling a bit melancholy this morning now that she's gone again ... but this too shall pass.

The Holy Spirit and the Eucharist-1

Continuing my occasional attempts to share our parish's bulletin inserts. This series focuses on excerpts from Sacramentum Caritatis. I believe this is the 10th insert.

Jesus and the Holy Spirit
12. With his word and with the elements of bread and wine, the Lord himself has given us the essentials of this new worship. The Church, his Bride, is called to celebrate the eucharistic banquet daily in his memory. She thus makes the redeeming sacrifice of her Bridegroom a part of human history and makes it sacramentally present in every culture. This great mystery is celebrated in the liturgical forms which the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, develops in time and space. (23) We need a renewed awareness of the decisive role played by the Holy Spirit in the evolution of the liturgical form and the deepening understanding of the sacred mysteries. The Paraclete, Christ’s first gift to those who believe, (24) already at work in Creation (cf. Gen 1:2), is fully present throughout the life of the incarnate Word: Jesus Christ is conceived by the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit (cf. Mt 1:18; Lk 1:35); at the beginning of his public mission, on the banks of the Jordan, he sees the Spirit descend upon him in the form of a dove (cf. Mt 3:16 and parallels); he acts, speaks and rejoices in the Spirit (cf. Lk 10:21), and he can offer himself in the Spirit (cf. Heb 9:14). In the so-called “farewell discourse” reported by John, Jesus clearly relates the gift of his life in the paschal mystery to the gift of the Spirit to his own (cf. Jn 16:7). Once risen, bearing in his flesh the signs of the passion, he can pour out the Spirit upon them (cf. Jn 20:22), making them sharers in his own mission (cf. Jn 20:21). The Spirit would then teach the disciples all things and bring to their remembrance all that Christ had said (cf. Jn 14:26), since it falls to him, as the Spirit of truth (cf. Jn 15:26), to guide the disciples into all truth (cf. Jn 16:13). In the account in Acts, the Spirit descends on the Apostles gathered in prayer with Mary on the day of Pentecost (cf. 2:1-4) and stirs them to undertake the mission of proclaiming the Good News to all peoples. Thus it is through the working of the Spirit that Christ himself continues to be present and active in his Church, starting with her vital centre which is the Eucharist.

-------------------------------------------------------
Quite often people will say that relating to the Holy Spirit is one of the the most difficult aspects of growing in our relationship with God. Perhaps that is because He is dificult to personify. We can’t get a good “picture” of Him in our minds. However, as Pope Benedict reminds us, the Holy Spirit is there from the beginning of time flowing through history, through Jesus’ life, through the life of the Church, and even now through our own lives as believers.

Take the time to look through the scriptural references which the Holy Father has given us above and see the Spirit moving through history, affecting lives and moving God’s works into space and time.

Perhaps we might find it fruitful to contemplate this simple prayer in which the Church has given us essential the truth about the Holy Spirit, indeed about God the three persons in one:

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning, is now,
and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen.

With our participation in the Eucharist and the effort to do God’s will, we too allow the Holy Spirit to be active in the world, which is a world without end.

-------------------------------------------------------
(23) Cf. Propositio 3.
(24) Cf. Roman Missal, Eucharistic Prayer IV.

This is one of a weekly series of excerpts from Pope Benedict XVI’s Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis. You are encouraged to read the entire document. The Vatican link to that document as well as to Pope Benedict’s first encyclical can be found on the website, www.stthomasaquinas.org.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Medieval crucifix found in Austrian rubbish skip

It was found in 2004 in the lakeside winter resort of Zell am See by a woman combing through a skip filled with the discarded possessions of a neighbor who had just died.

Isn't the photo gorgeous? Get the whole story here. Thanks to Kacie for passing on this interesting tidbit.

And a Good Time Was Had By All

What a great time we had last night. Long-time Happy Catholic reader and dedicated knitter, Terri, was in Dallas and we rendezvoused at Passion Knit (great name, eh?). We spent an hour and a half perusing their wares while talking our heads off (natch!). How is it that you can meet someone and feel within ten minutes that you are talking to an old college buddy or some such long lost friend? At any rate, that's the feeling I had with Terri.

I was lured into buying my first hand-dyed yarn (that means expensive for those who don't know) for a shawl for Tom's mother, which I was assured by my Passion Knit pal would knit up "in a weekend" into an easy, yet elegant shawl. To be fair, she doesn't know what my weekends are like but I am going to be driving with Tom to take Hannah back to A&M on Sunday. That there's prime knitting time, y'all! So maybe I will have a shawl at the end of the weekend ...

We then proceeded to Mariano's for some brisket tacos and margaritas (yes we do know how to have a good time, thank you). And back to our house to show our knitting projects to each other. Although Terri's projects eclipse mine in expertise (and also quantity), I must say that I was proud to be able to introduce her to a very affordable, machine washable yarn (that means cheap for those who don't know), suitable for afghans, etc.

Of course, we never quit talking the entire time.

It was a glorious evening. Thanks Terri!

Reeves and the Motu Proprio That Binds

"Dash it all, Sr. Agatha, I won't --"

"Do be quiet, Willie. I did not travel all this way to listen to your blathering."

"But you can't expect me to --"

"What I expect, Willie, is that you will find a place in your diocese for young Father Thomas here."

I eyed the specimen, who sat perched on the edge of an armchair staring at the wall clock in rapt fascination. I would have said he had unhinged his jaw, the better to concentrate, but he lacked a visible jaw. The overall effect so strongly suggested a daydreaming fish that it was all I could do to refrain from offering him an ant egg.

"He wants some rounding, as I say, and the opportunities do not exist in our diocese. Something musical, perhaps, or the rector of a shrine. You do have shrines here?"

"Oh, rather," I said, my parochial pride a bit stung. "Some jolly fine ones, too. It's just that we're full up with rectors at the mo."

"Well, I'm sure you'll find something suitable." Sr. Agatha rose. "I shall check back in a week. Goodbye, Father Thomas."

"Hm? Ah." Father Thomas unmoored his gaze from the clock and smiled at the room at large.

"I am quite certain you will not disappoint me, Willie. Not this time," Sr. Agatha added, with a look that could make a cardinal deacon feel the sleeves of his rochet were too tight.

Then she left the room, if "left" is the mot juste for someone who moves with the self-possession of a Romanesque abbey.

P.G. Wodehouse fans will recognize the style and the players in this story by the inimitable Disputations. This is classic and hilarious. So far we have Parts I, II, and III. Go, enjoy ...

The Lord's Prayer: "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (part 2)

Continuing the contemplation from Monday of God's name.

It remains true, of course, that God did not simply refuse Moses' request. If we want to understand this curious interplay between name and non-name, we have to be clear about what a name actually is. We could put it very simply by saying that the name creates the possibility of address or invocation. It establishes relationship. When Adam names the animals, what this means is not that he indicates their essential natures, but that he fits them into his human world, put them within reach of his call. Having said this, we are now in a position to understand the positive meaning of the divine name: God establishes a relationship between himself and us. He puts himself within reach of our invocation. He enters into relationship with us and enables us to be in relationship with him. Yet this means that in some sense he hands himself over to our human world. He has made himself accessible and, therefore, vulnerable as well. He assumes the risk of relationship, of communion, with us.
Jesus of Nazareth by Joseph Ratzinger (a.k.a. Pope Benedict XVI)

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

The Dignity of Women

With this in mind, we bring our readers to the joyful announcement that the Vatican will honor the twentieth anniversary of Mulieris Dignitatem in 2008. The lay faithful everywhere are invited to study the document, meditate on it, create initiatives, and to give thanks for the beauty of God's plan for women revealed therein. Women in North America in particular are asked to consider it in light of one overarching theme: The dignity of woman in a technological and consumeristic society.

Genevieve Kienke, who blogs at feminine-genius, has a wonderful article explaining the creation of a new website, The Dignity of Women. This looks like a wonderful resource and a way to gain insight into a papal document of which I was unaware. C'mon, dig in!

The Lord's Prayer: "Father"

Whoops! I skipped right around this in posting that first part on prayer the other day. I liked these thoughts on the concepts of being children of God.

... There is is a unique sense in which Christ is the "image of God" (2 Cor 4:4; Col 1:15). The Fathers of the Church therefore say that when God created man "in his image," he looked toward the Christ who was to come, and created man according to the image of the "new Adam," the man who is the criterion of the human. Above all, though Jesus is "the Son" in the strict sense -- he is of one substance with the Father. He wants to draw all of us into his humanity and so into his Sonship, into his total belonging to God.

This gives the concept of being God's children a dynamic quality: We are not ready-made children of God from the start, but are meant to become so increasingly by growing more and more deeply in communion with Jesus. Our sonship turns out to be identical with following Christ. To name God as Father thus becomes a summons to us: to live as a "child," as a son or daughter. "All that is mine is yours (??? check this word)," Jesus says in his high-priestly prayer to the Father (Jn 17:10), and the father says the same thing to the elder brother of the Prodigal Son (Lk 15:31). The word father is an invitation to live from our awareness of this reality. Hence, too, the delusion of false emancipation, which marked the beginning of mankind's history of sin, is overcome. Adam, heeding the words of the serpent, wants to become god himself and to shed his need for God. We see that to be God's child is not a matter of dependency, but rather of standing in the relation of love that sustains man's existence and gives it meaning and grandeur.
Jesus of Nazareth by Joseph Ratzinger (a.k.a. Pope Benedict XVI)

No Time. Must Get to Mass. Holy Day of Obligation ...

Solemnity of the Assumption

Read all about it as well as activities at the link ... first off, though, I gotta get outta here. More later!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

I Can't Choose Just One ...

TS gives us definitions of temperaments from The Temperament God Gave You. Rita read these out to us during a break at the retreat we gave a few weeks ago. She pointed out that most people are a combination.

I'm going for Choleric and Sanguine ... great, the two most volatile of the bunch. I guess I should feel blessed that I have so much fertile ground available to overcome as I attempt to work my way toward sainthood ...

Choleric:
Spiritual gifts: zeal for souls, fortitude, knowledge.
Spiritual weaknesses: self-will, control, anger, haughtiness, superiority.
Saints who share your temperament: St. Paul.

Sanguine:
Spiritual gifts: Joy, mercy, magnanimity, gratitude.
Spiritual weaknesses: self-love, envy, seeking esteem and human respect.
Saints who share your temperament: St. Peter.

Melancholic:
Spiritual gifts: Piety, long-suffering, wisdom.
Spiritual weaknesses: timidity, scrupulosity, judgmentalism, despair.
Saints who share your temperament: St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein).

Phlegmatic:
Spiritual gifts: Peace, understanding, counsel, meekness.
Spiritual weaknesses: sensuality, sloth, complacency.
Saints who share your temperament: St. Thomas Aquinas.

Now, That Is An Unusual Museum

Why not take a virtual vacation to the Museum of Pocket Calculating Devices? It's sure to add up to a good time.

Also Viewed ...

It was action movie weekend around here as Rose not only rented 300 but also ...

The Bourne Identity
She saw The Bourne Ultimatum with friends and thought it would be nice to see where it all started. We all liked it. Not only well plotted and played but the fact that Matt Damon is so ordinary was definitely in character as the assassin who no one would look at twice. We're looking forward to renting the next one in the trilogy. HC rating: **** 9 thumbs up!

The Departed
We have long been fans of the movie that inspired this one, Infernal Affairs. I have reprinted the original review below. See that for a general plot synopsis.

Not being a Martin Scorsese fan I was not interested in watching but Rose had never seen a Scorsese flick and was interested to see what had been done in the remake. What she found was that it was "much more American and not in a good way." In short, Scorsese added a lot of character development that was unnecessary. We think that he may have actually incorporated many elements from Infernal Affairs 2 which shows the two men's advancement through the ranks of their various assigned professions. She also found that he had eliminated one of the most suspenseful scenes (showing the two moles pitted against each other communicating with their bosses during a drug bust) and unnecessarily connected the psychiatrist with the mole in the police department. This means that the original girlfriend was cut which is too bad since she added a subtle cuing to look at the mole's character development when she would bounce different plot ideas off of him for her book, The Man of a 1000 Faces (or some such title -- you get the idea). Basically, Rose found that it was "all junked up" with additions that detracted from the story, including changing the ending in a significant manner that completely changed the strong redemptive nature of the original story.

Interesting feedback, since, as I mentioned, she has never seen a Scorsese film and was willing to accept a different take on the story. If you see the two movies in reverse order you may find that Infernal Affairs is too spare for your taste, however, take a look at the subtleties with which all the character development is accomplished using much less angst and drama.

She then went and rented Infernal Affairs again to see if her original take on the two was justified. She found that it was.

Infernal Affairs (Wu jian dao)
(Hong Kong)
This stylistic, smart movie takes the classic crime plot of police versus criminals and turns it into a tense, exciting battle of wits. Police Superintendent Wong takes his best police cadet, Yan, and has him go undercover to become a mole in the drug-running Triad gang. Unbeknownst to them, the Triad's leader, Sam, is doing the exact same thing with a young gang member, Lau, who has a clean record and will be accepted into police cadet school. After years pass both Lau and Yan have become accepted, valuable members of their respective groups. During a drug bust, both the police and the Triad gang become aware that each has been infiltrated by a mole. In an ironic move, the moles are both so trusted that each is tasked by his superior with discovering who the mole is within his own group. Simultaneously, each is contacted by his real boss and told to discover who the mole is in the other group. What follows is a fascinating plot twist in which each mole struggles to retain his anonymity. while discovering the other's identity. This movie is gripping until the very end and keeps you guessing the entire time. Everything is masterfully brought together in the last ten minutes with a denouement that gives the entire movie unexpected depths.

This movie was so popular in Hong Kong that it inspired two sequels, Infernal Affairs II which actually was a prequel, and Infernal Affairs III which continues the story begun in the original movie. We watched this movie in the original Cantonese with English subtitles. It was fascinating to hear the large quantity of English scattered through regular conversation. “Channel,” “sorry,” “entrance,” “ok,” “bye,” and “sir” are just a few of the words constantly breaking the pattern of Chinese dialogue. HC rating: **** 9 thumbs up! This review originally appeared in Spero News.

Masters of Science Fiction
Rose and I watched the first two episodes of this anthology being shown by ABC on Saturdays. These are some classic science fiction stories adapted for television and featuring excellent acting and directing. It occurred to us that Rose has really never seen true science fiction, thinking that science fiction equates to "Twilight Zone" style shows. These were the real thing and although the end of the second one was unutterably sappy that was the story's fault, not that of the performers. Both had a high level of interest and had us involved in talking about plot as it went along. There are two more scheduled to air and I highly recommend them.

HC rating system: key

Monday, August 13, 2007

300 — "Unequivocally the only movie ever made worth seeing about screaming, half-naked, greased up men."

King Leonidas: The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant, that few stood against many.

So said Nehring the Edge blog and so say we all. Read his post for a true review. Our impressions are below.

What I liked the most about this movie was the idea that this was how the Spartans would have thought about the legend themselves. Yes, it is inaccurate historically but it is the stuff of legends and, therefore, a certain amount of leniency can be shown (not to mention that it is based on a comic book). The emphasis was on honor, freedom, and love of family and country.

The absolutely beautifully photography only enhanced the feeling of watching a heroic legend being told.

We also liked the fact that the people weren't perfectly beautiful. Yes, all the guys had six-packs unless they were old councilmen but other than that they weren't fashion plates. Likewise the queen was what we called "normally" beautiful. Also she looked as if she worked out and could gut someone with a spear at 50 paces. A true Spartan queen.

The Lord's Prayer: "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (part 1)

Had someone told me this before? I don't think so and yet, again, this seems one of those very obvious, logical pieces of information that I should know somehow. Thank heavens that Joseph Ratzinger presents these ideas so logically and simply that I can remember and absorb.

But in the world of Moses' time there were many gods. Moses therefore asks the name of this God that will prove his special authority vis-a-vis the gods. In this respect, the idea of the divine name belongs first of all to the polytheistic world, in which this God, too, has to give himself a name. But the God who calls Moses is truly God. and God in the strict and true sense is not plural. God is by essence one. For this reason he cannot enter into the world of the gods as one among many; he cannot have one name among others.

God's answer to Moses is thus at once a refusal and a pledge. He says of himself simply, "I am who I am" -- he is without any qualification. This pledge is a name and a non-name at one and the same time. The Israelites were therefore perfectly right in refusing to utter this self-designation of God, expressed in the word YHWH, so as to avoid degrading it to the level of names of pagan deities. By the same token, recent bible translations were wrong to write out this name -- which Israel always regarded as mysterious and unutterable -- as if it were just any old name. By doing so, they have dragged the mystery of God, which cannot be captured in images or in names lips can utter, down to the level of some familiar item within a common history of religions.
Jesus of Nazareth by Joseph Ratzinger (a.k.a. Pope Benedict XVI)

More of this will follow tomorrow.

Friday, August 10, 2007

"Does the word 'Christian' make your stomach turn?"

That is the question that was posed by Friendly Christian. Frankly I was surprised that he got only 63 comments. There is are many people who are cynical or hostile towards Christians and usually they are not shy about speaking up ... often with good reason. After all, I used to be one of "them" and the list of complaints my friend Hey Jules thoughtfully sorted is very similar to the one I had myself.

My admittedly unoriginal thought is that we are living in the equivalent of the first century and there are a lot of forces out there who do not paint Christians or Christianity in a very positive light. Movies, television, reporters, and more are intent on pushing an agenda that is decidedly at odds with Christianity.

Also, as we all know, many times we ourselves reinforce the negative images with both hands. Let's face it. We are sinners. Period. That means we fall and sometimes we fall quite ungracefully with plenty of witnesses around. Some of those witnesses take our every action to be representative of Christianity as a whole. That's a fair cop because, warts and all, we are ambassadors of Christ.

So how is one to respond to these complaints? My initial thought is that there is no group of people where one can't pick out at least one member who embarrasses the others by their lack of ability to live up to their common standards. Yet, again, we are supposed to be better than other groups. We are followers of the Son of God after all.

The first century Christians were pointed out by others because of "how they love each other."

How do we do this too? How do we show this love so it shines forth?

How does the kingdom of God grow? Through ambassadors of Christ, believers who have been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Through people like St. Lawrence, who are made capable of loving and serving Jesus to limitless degrees!
The Word Among Us

The first century Christians picked up babies abandoned to die on street corners and adopted them, they took care of the sick in epidemics when everyone else fled, they fed the poor and asked for nothing in return. They showed their love in the way that speaks loudest when you don't have a common language ... actions. They didn't go around talking about it. That was the quick way to martyrdom. They lived it.

We must help provide alternatives and not simply parrot ideals. We have to be active in our love as well as simply want the best. Each person has a different spot where God has placed them to show his love and change the world a little for the better ... whether it is through their family, their friends, or their community at large. We must seek God's will for the place we should be ... and then get in there and do it.

The first century Christians were martyrs. They endured torture and horrible deaths because they loved God so that they couldn't imagine turning their backs on Him.

God must be the center of our lives. He is truth and love. If he is the center of our lives then we too will live from a center of truth and love.

Are we willing to be martyrs ... because we are so in love with God? We can say yes because there is very little likelihood that we will be asked for that ultimate sacrifice. In it's place can we than endure the pinpricks of daily life with love for our neighbor ... the person who cuts us off in traffic, who pushes past us and lets the door slam in our faces, who yells at our child, who reports the old lady down the street to the city for brown grass, who accuses a teenager of scraping their car and then wants the payment in cash?

Remember, loving someone doesn't mean that we have mushy, feel-good emotions but that we have their best interest, their greatest good at heart. It means we act on our will and harness our emotions which often aren't good ones at all. It means saying a prayer for them (and often for ourselves as we struggle), "Lord have mercy on me and bless them" and still being polite or friendly or helpful when they don't care a whit.

Above all we must pray ... for ourselves and for others, for God's grace to carry us through when we can't carry ourselves.

The ultimate answer comes from many places as God uses everything around us to pull us back up again and again. We are to keep trying, never be defeated, and always, always love our neighbor as ourself ... even, and especially, when that means humiliating ourselves by asking forgiveness when we have done the wrong thing.

Am I good at this? Heck no. I wish I was. But eventually I manage to pick myself back up and launch myself into the fray again. That is my job. Whether I do it well or badly depends on how close I am to God. To my shame I am rarely close enough to do it well. But, again, I keep trying to get closer and to do it well enough to make Him proud, to show my love. Thank God for His grace or I'd never get anywhere!

God uses us, imperfect instruments as we all are, to shake up a cynical and hostile world. All we need to do is cooperate by living lives of love as best we can. Often we are unwittingly used by God. We think we are just living our lives while behind the scenes God is busy pulling strings.

Sometimes He uses a yellow sticky note to jolt someone out of cynicism.

As we were wrapping up I grabbed my purse off of the desk, and lying next to it I saw a stack of some broadcast documents and personal papers that belonged to him. On top of the papers was a bright yellow sticky note with the words "PRAY FOR REBECCA" written in large letters. ...

Sometimes He uses a little girl's plea.

"Mommy, can I pleeeeeeeease borrow a dollar?"

This became her standard question. And the first time she asked it, I almost gave my standard answer: No, they'll just use it to buy drugs. It's the answer that was drilled into me during my time in L.A., the answer I hadn't spent much time second guessing until my daughter stood before me in Chicago with her plaintive plea. ...

And sometimes he uses two accountants ... a bad one and a good one.

... So, kneeling at Mass one day, I made God a deal. All He had to do was to get a me a new house as a sign. Then I’d know He was there … and I’d have a new house. ...

Looking Deep Within and Finding a Gem

THE INTERIOR CASTLE
by St. Teresa of Avila

Let's face it. This is a scary book. First of all, St. Teresa is a Doctor of the Church. For most of us that means her writing is of lofty thoughts about hard-to-understand subjects. It doesn't help that she is consistently described as a "16th-century mystic ... considered one of the most profound spiritual teachers in the history of Christianity." For most people that equals a "too hard for me" message about her writing.

Happily, I am here to tell you that, although all those things are true, The Interior Castle by St. Teresa is also accessible to you and me with many valuable messages about everyday living as well as the loftier goal of knowing one's own soul and God. Consistently, all the members of our book club, who have various levels of previous "difficult" spiritual reading, would show up for monthly meetings with exclamations of surprise about how helpful and inspirational this book was for them.

She complained: “Lord, amid so many ills this comes on top of all the rest.”

A Voice answered her, “Teresa, that is how I treat my friends.”

She retorted, “Ah, my God! That is why you have so few of them!”

Perhaps our surprise was because we forgot the most basic element about this spiritual guide ... the book was written for Teresa's fellow nuns and surely, therefore, had to be able to communicate with people who were all at different spots on the spiritual path as well as many varying levels of intellect. Perhaps also it is because we forgot about Teresa's own basic nature which is not only spiritual but also down-to-earth, humorous and spunky. After all, this is the woman who taught her nuns to dance, ate a gift of game birds on a feast day and, most famously of all, had the above conversation with God after being dumped into flood-like conditions on a difficult journey to establish a convent.

This book's whole purpose is to show us how to get closer to God. Teresa uses the analogy of our soul being a castle with six mansions or dwelling places within, with God living in the very center. She was ordered by her superiors to write about it and her book begins thus:

Today while beseeching our Lord to speak for me because I wasn't able to think of anything to say nor did I know how to begin to carry out this obedience [of writing this book], there came to my mind what I shall now speak about, that which will provide us with a basis to begin with. It is that we consider our soul to be like a castle made entirely out of a diamond or of very clear crystal, in which there are many rooms, must as in heaven there are many dwelling places. for in reflecting upon it carefully, Sisters, we realize that the soul of the just person is nothing else but a paradise where the Lord says He will find his delight. So then, what do you think that abode will be like where a King so powerful, so wise, so pure, so full of all good things takes His delight? I don't find anything comparable to the magnificent beauty of a soul and its marvelous capacity. Indeed, our intellects, however keen, can hardly comprehend it, just as they cannot comprehend God; but He Himself says that He created us in His own image and likeness.

This is lofty sounding indeed but Teresa provides ample practical examples to help the reader grasp her meaning. For instance, she speaks of the beginner as being able to enter the gate of the castle with prayer and reflection, though hindered by many reptiles and vermin which they cannot even recognize. Those reptiles and vermin are our many sins which we can't recognize without help.

Her constant goal is to help us see the enormity and beauty of our souls and how little we recognize what is within our grasp should we even make a small effort. By recognizing things as they are, in other words by recognizing the truth, we than can begin to achieve true humility that leads us to love and serve God increasingly selflessly. Again, this may sound difficult and lofty, however, it is punctuated with Teresa's constant practical advice and reminders. These provide ample opportunities to see oneself a little more clearly all the time. Teresa also places a great importance on the necessity of recognizing that we are in spiritual warfare constantly. We can't blame everything on the devil, naturally, but she reminds us how often our own faulty inclinations leave the way open to be attacked.

I am amused sometimes to see certain souls who think when they are at prayer that they would like to be humiliated and publicly insulted for God, and afterward they would hide a tiny fault if they could; or, if they have not committed one and yet are charged with it -- God deliver us! Well, let anyone who can't bear such a thing be careful not to pay attention to what he has by himself determined -- in his opinion -- to do. As a matter of fact, the determination was not in the will -- for whom there is a true determination of the will it's another matter -- but a work of the imagination; it is in the imagination that the devil produces his wiles and deceits. ...

This is not a book which one can sit down and devour chapter after chapter at a sitting. I found it most fruitful to read a few paragraphs daily which then would sink in over the course of the day. It also is a book that lends itself to repeated readings. I can imagine it becoming a daily companion for spiritual reading and reflection as there is much that I need to hear many times before it really sinks in.

Do not let yourself be intimidated by the high reputation or spiritual goals of this book. If you are looking for spiritual reading you cannot do better than The Interior Castle.

A word about translations:
When I mentioned that we were going to begin reading this book it touched off a spirited series of translation recommendations. Laura H., whose recommendation this book was and who has read it five times, held out for Allison Peers. That is ultimately the translation our group read and no one had any trouble with it at all. So many had also recommended the Kavanaugh translation that I also got that and alternated reading the same sections from both books. I found this a most profitable way to let the message sink in. The Peers translation is a bit more old fashioned in wording and the Kavanaugh much more modern. All translations above are from Kavanaugh for the simple reason that I lent my Peers book to a friend who wanted to begin the book. I can't recommend one over the other. Both had distinct advantages and sometimes one translation would make a point clear that the other did not. However, I believe that is a distinctly personal reaction. It is more important to get this book and begin reading than to get hung up on translations. Either is wonderful and should you like the book enough to contemplate repeated readings you can then indulge in the other translation.

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Poetry Thursday

Macavity: The Mystery Cat

Macavity’s a Mystery Cat: he’s called the Hidden Paw -
For he’s the master criminal who can defy the Law.
He’s the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad’s despair:
For when they reach the scene of crime - Macavity’s not there!

Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity,
He’s broken every human law, he breaks the law of gravity.
His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare,
And when you reach the scene of crime - Macavity’s not there!
You may seek him in the basement, you may look up in the air -
But I tell you once and once again, Macavity’s not there!

Mcavity’s a ginger cat, he’s very tall and thin;
You would know him if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in.
His brow is deeply lined with thought, his head is highly domed;
His coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed.
He sways his head from side to side, with movements like a snake;
And when you think he’s half asleep, he’s always wide awake.

Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity,
For he’s a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity.
You may meet him in a by-street, you may see him in the square -
But when a crime’s discovered, then Macavity’s not there!

He’s outwardly respectable. (They say he cheats at cards.)
And his footprints are not found in any file of Scotland Yard’s.
And when the larder’s looted, or the jewel-case is rifled,
Or when the milk is missing, or another Peke’s been stifled,
Or the greenhouse glass is broken, and the trellis past repair -
Ay, there’s the wonder of the thing! Macavity’s not there!

And when the Foreign Office find a Treaty’s gone astray,
Or the Admiralty lose some plans and drawings by the way,
There may be a scrap of paper in the hall or on the stair -
But it’s useless to investigate - Mcavity’s not there!
And when the loss has been disclosed, the Secret Service say:
`It must have been Macavity!’ - but he’s a mile away.
You’ll be sure to find him resting, or a-licking of his thumbs,
Or engaged in doing complicated long-division sums.

Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity,
There never was a Cat of such deceitfulness and suavity.
He always has an alibi, and one or two to spare:
At whatever time the deed took place - MACAVITY WASN’T THERE!
And they say that all the Cats whose wicked deeds are widely known
(I might mention Mungojerrie, I might mention Griddlebone)
Are nothing more than agents for the Cat who all the time
Just controls their operations: the Napoleon of Crime!

TS Eliot

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Church Etiquette

Our church usually have problems with cell phones going off during Mass as I've heard can be a problem in other parishes. However, recently someone came in with a cup of Starbucks coffee. Ushers tell the story of the person who came in with a bag of potato chips and sat eating them during Mass.

Obviously our priest has a spot where he can see all the etiquette problems that come up. After putting a polite but small notice in our bulletin for several weeks and then watching someone sit chomping gum throughout Mass (two rows in front of us where we watched in fascination ...), he drafted a new etiquette reminder. Not only did it make me laugh but I really loved the last two paragraphs which remind us that these matters of etiquette aren't merely to make those around us happy (though they will!), but because we are there for a much higher purpose.

Please turn off or silence cell phone and pagers
Please keep a respectful quiet in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist before and after Mass
Please remember appropriate clothing—even/especially during the summer the church should be décolletage-free zone (if you don’t know this word I have one other word for you...Dictionary)
Please for us as adults, do not bring in cups of coffee from the various chains...or, of course, from home
Please remember, except in case of true need, bottles of water are not needed...we probably won’t dehydrate in an hour
Please remember chewing gum by anyone (any age, Catholic or not) is not acceptable ever, at any time, and especially during Mass. Reason? 1. respect 2. one-hour fast prior to Communion
Please refrain from reading the bulletin, e-mails or text messages during Mass
Please NO MP3 devices, iPods, Nano or otherwise…
Please do not come late, scoot out after Communion or rudely leave before the Liturgy is concluded, including the closing hymn
Please participate in the Mass, Body, Mind and Spirit singing, speaking, praying, attending within the heart and in the body.

The question may be asked, “Why?”. The answer, is reverence, respect, participation. Our obligation is NOT bodily presence in the church during the time the Mass is being celebrated; our obligation each Sunday and Holy Day of obligation is active participation in mind, heart and body in the Liturgy, in which the saving mysteries of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ are celebrated in a way that we may enter into them… If that sounds heady well it may be, but that’s how it is, that is our privilege as Catholics to take part in by prayerfully lifting up our minds and hearts and offering ourselves with Jesus Christ at the altar.

Our Lord unites us with Himself, with one another and with the angels and saints, by the Holy Spirit, in the one and only worship of God The Father when we come to Mass—nothing less. God the Father listens to our prayers with loving and unfailing attention; we should be together as a community, in His Presence in exactly the same way. Please don’t take offense but one of our goals together must be the restoration and maintenance of reverence and participation in the Liturgy—our whole and undivided hearts we must give to God. I would be remiss not to remind us all of our duty and our privilege.

Happy Catholic*

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