2008 Top 5 6: Blog Discoveries

Why 6? Because it's one more than 5. (In no particular order.)

1. Dr. Boli's Celebrated Magazine: a celebration of the absurd, showcasing intelligent humor a la Victorian sensibilities. Yes, it's difficult to describe. Just go read it.
   
   
2. The Silver Key: Self-described as The Silver Key is a place to discuss all things fun and fantastic; mundane existence is hereby banished from these pages. Books, music, movies, role-playing games, and more are all fair game. Indeed. Interesting and intelligently written, I always read Brian Murphy's posts as soon as they are up. His series of thoughts on rereading The Lord of the Rings was especially good.
   
   
3. smitten kitchen: Deb almost always seems interested in recipes that interest me also. I probably have tried more of her recipes than from any other cooking blog except Homesick Texan. Her commentary is that of a cooking pal and her adjustments to recipes are intelligent. For those who enjoy cooking photography, her visuals do as much as the written word to draw one into the recipes. Recent samplings include: pizza with broccoli rabe and roasted onions, gramercy tavern’s gingerbread, braised beef short ribs, potato pancakes and even better grasshopper brownies.
   
   
4. Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering: I didn't actually "discover" this blog in 2008 (to the best of my spotty recollection) but either I have just begun appreciating Sarah's style or she has blossomed into a new blogging style ... or both! Sarah embodies the best of "mom blogging" by combining just enough of her family life with thoughtful reflections and action plans for living better or deepening her spiritual life. It might help that she and I seem to be on the same thinking plane quite often, as witness this recent post about 2009 resolutions. Yeah, me too.
   
   
5. lines and colors: a blog about drawing, sketching, painting, comics, cartoons, webcomics, illustration, digital art, concept art, gallery art, artist tools and techniques, motion graphics, animation, sci-fi and fantasy illustration, paleo art, storyboards, matte painting, 3d graphics and anything else I find visually interesting. If it has lines and/or colors, it's fair game. What he does not say is that you will find some of the best thoughtful writing about art to accompany all the above, as well as copious links and references to take any interests further. I don't know much about art, but I'm learning more, thanks to lines and colors.
   
   
6. Roger Ebert's Journal: I enjoy reading his movie reviews but his journal shows us more of Ebert's broad interests. As he himself pointed out earlier this year, his throat cancer has made him a much better writer simply through sheer necessity. In essence, he has taken up that plaguey habit that many bloggers know well ... of forming his thoughts into articles. It leads to fascinating reading, whether about his love of rice cookers, why Bette Davis's stamp portrait should have included her cigarette, or this piece on a subject close to my heart about why the newspaper industry is failing.

And the Aftermath

Yes, it tasted as good as it looked.

Santa Was Very Good to Me

Oh so many riches ... Crabtree & Evelyn soap and lotion, the second season of 30 Rock, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog dvd ... and much more.

The two biggies though came from Tom.

The Soda Club fountain jet which allows me to make my favorite orange flavored sparkling water whenever I want. Woohoo! He splurged on a big scale so we have many flavors as well as cola samples to try. The diet root beer was pronounced adequate but with a flavoring amount adjustment needed for the next batch. (I see it all was gone within a few hours anyway.)

The peacock blue Malibu knitting bag is a true luxury as I have canvas tote bags for my knitting. This put a severe test to Tom's tenacity as he managed to track down an actual retailer carrying the bag (the manufacturer doesn't sell these themselves). Talking over the requirements for color and bag model with a cheerful saleswoman on the phone he found that they were sold out. Peacock blue was available but not in the right model. The right model was available but only in Charcoal. He said, "You don't understand. These requirements are exact." She laughed heartily in sympathy and said, "My husband is going through the same thing right now!"

The result is that he very creatively put together a big printout of the bag and we will go to the shop together in a few days to see what is available. That really is the best anyway as I can actually see the bags and it is a new knitting store to discover. So dangerous ... a knitting store. Yet so exciting!

Welcome Lord Jesus Into Our Midst

BRONZINO, Agnolo
1535-40, Adoration of the Shepherds

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom
a light has shone.
You have brought them abundant joy
and great rejoicing,
as they rejoice before you as at the harvest,
as people make merry when dividing spoils.
For the yoke that burdened them,
the pole on their shoulder,
and the rod of their taskmaster
you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.
For every boot that tramped in battle,
every cloak rolled in blood,
will be burned as fuel for flames.
For a child is born to us, a son is given us;
upon his shoulder dominion rests.
They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero,
Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.
His dominion is vast
and forever peaceful,
from David’s throne, and over his kingdom,
which he confirms and sustains
by judgment and justice,
both now and forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!

Isaiah 9:1-6

Thanks be to God!

May He bless you richly and may we recognize the blessings He sends us.
Merry Christmas!

If you are not acquainted with them you may be interested in seeing what readings the Church has for different times of the day during Christmas.

Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)

At the Vigil Mass

Mass at Midnight

Mass at Dawn

Mass During the Day

True or False?

• Sugar makes kids hyperactive.
• Suicides increase over the holidays.
• Poinsettias are toxic.
• You lose most of your body heat through your head.
• Eating at night makes you fat.
• You can cure a hangover with…

Surprise!

All false!

I could have sworn the poinsettias and body heat ones were true. For the real scoop, go see Robert Duncan's expose.

Let the joyful news be spread ... my iPod has risen from the dead!

That adventurous little device was turned on last night. I just couldn't take it any more.

There was no reaction until we thought that maybe the battery needed charging. Sure enough, when we plugged it in, the apple appeared, it began charging, and hadn't even lost any of the content. The screen looks fine.

Woohoo!

A Few Thoughts on Forgiveness and Grace: "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."

Brian Muha was brutally slain in Steubenville with his friend Aaron Land in 1999. We were living there at the time and everyone had their eyes on Mrs Muha because from the first moment the story broke - when the boys were still only missing - she called on everyone to forgive those responsible. The amazing thing is that her resolve to forgive was tested when the boys were found shot to death. She did not disappoint us because she went forward, even testifying on the murders behalf to prevent them from getting the death penalty. When she spoke the young men responsible for the murders she said, "my son is now your best friend." She was referring to the fact that the murdered boys would now be praying for the soul of these guys.

Mary at Broken Alabaster has written a moving piece about forgiveness. Please do go read it now before continuing.

She mentions my prayers for the souls of my friend's murderers as a good example. As my promptings in this are have been entirely the result of Christ's grace I felt extremely unworthy to be mentioned.

However, it did make me stop and think back to why I would begin praying for the souls of those persecuting my friend when I first heard of it, before she was killed.

It is because Christ has been working on my heart through the examples of saints and friends. In short, it is because of his workings through the Body of Christ.

I remember distinctly the impression that my gentle, kind friend Norma made immediately after the Twin Towers were destroyed on Sept. 11. I was ranting about vengeance against the terrorists and she didn't say anything but had a troubled look on her face. That look made me stop and examine my own instincts as compared to the example set by Christ.

Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)

As distasteful as it was, I had to stop and pray for forgiveness for the terrorists' souls. I did not want to but Norma's example pointed out the right path.

I remember Kathy L's witness during the CRHP retreat I attended. It was instrumental in breaking open my heart for the main reason I was supposed to be there. That reason was forgiveness of certain people. After I faced that reality and took it to confession, I was set free to be so much more of the person that God created me to be.

I remember being interviewed for a jury that was going to consider the death penalty for a confessed murderer. My head said that I was not in favor of the death penalty because of Pope John Paul II's writings on the subject. However, that was the gloss over what my heart had always felt, that the death penalty, an eye for an eye, was the right and proper punishment for murderers. That trial was the impetus that made me realize my inconsistencies and turned me, in part, toward St. Maria Goretti who forgave her murderer upon her deathbed. It made me look at Alessandro Serenelli, her killer, who in old age wrote:

"I'm nearly 80 years old. I'm about to depart.

"Looking back at my past, I can see that in my early youth, I chose a bad path which led me to ruin myself.

"My behavior was influenced by print, mass-media and bad examples which are followed by the majority of young people without even thinking. And I did the same. I was not worried.

"There were a lot of generous and devoted people who surrounded me, but I paid no attention to them because a violent force blinded me and pushed me toward a wrong way of life.

"When I was 20 years-old, I committed a crime of passion. Now, that memory represents something horrible for me. Maria Goretti, now a Saint, was my good Angel, sent to me through Providence to guide and save me. I still have impressed upon my heart her words of rebuke and of pardon. She prayed for me, she interceded for her murderer. Thirty years of prison followed.

"If I had been of age, I would have spent all my life in prison. I accepted to be condemned because it was my own fault.

"Little Maria was really my light, my protectress; with her help, I behaved well during the 27 years of prison and tried to live honestly when I was again accepted among the members of society. The Brothers of St. Francis, Capuchins from Marche, welcomed me with angelic charity into their monastery as a brother, not as a servant. I've been living with their community for 24 years, and now I am serenely waiting to witness the vision of God, to hug my loved ones again, and to be next to my Guardian Angel and her dear mother, Assunta.

"I hope this letter that I wrote can teach others the happy lesson of avoiding evil and of always following the right path, like little children. I feel that religion with its precepts is not something we can live without, but rather it is the real comfort, the real strength in life and the only safe way in every circumstance, even the most painful ones of life."

Signature, Alessandro Serenelli

(This subject was further expounded upon by Mark Windsor after my friend's murder and I urge you to read his reflections upon evil and our response to it, if you have not already.)

Then I had the immediate example of Immaculee Ilibagiza, with her gentle voice echoing in my ears, about the grace of Jesus allowing her to look into the eyes of killers from the Rwandan genocides and think of the good people they were way down deep, to wonder what happened to them to twist them into such evil. That was quickly followed by young Namrata Nayak's story of forgiving Hindu extremists who bombed her home hoping to kill Christians. (You can find the post with their stories and links here.)

The examples were flooding upon me, though I did not notice their significance at the time. However, at that time was when I heard of my friend's persecution and I began praying for the souls of everyone involved. Everyone.

Immediately following the terrible news, I had the example of a mutual friend, Kathy L (yes the same one from the retreat), who regularly spent much more time with my friend than I had for some time. When a few of us who could get away in the middle of the day met at the church to grieve together, one of the first things out of her mouth was that we must not forget to pray for the murderers. She said, "We are all born with the same innocent souls. What happens to change some people so much?"

This was not a new thought to me by this time but it did embolden me to speak up to encourage friends to at least be willing to ask God for the "willingness to pray for forgiveness."

Now you can see why, upon reading Mary's article, I could see how carefully I was prepared to receive Christ's grace in praying for the souls of the murderers. In a way, it has been a salutory example of how our sins and virtues affect the entire Body of Christ. Without those virtues so clearly on display, I would not have been prepared to be open to praying for those who know not what they did.

In Mary's article, I see yet another example.

"my son is now your best friend."

I have not mentioned that St. Maria Goretti is not the only person I have been asking to pray for everyone involved. I also have turned to Alessandro Serenelli. Who better to intercede for both the victims and the unwilling recipients who committed the crimes?

As well, I think of my friend, Cyndie, who said, "Jeanmarie is in heaven. We have to put her to work." Cyndie was speaking of asking Jeanmarie to pray for Frank, for whom our hearts are breaking. I had not yet taken that final step of thinking of asking her prayers for her killers. Yet again, however, a member of the Body of Christ takes me another step down the road.

St. Maria Goretti,
Alessandro Serenelli,
Jeanmarie, Matthew, and Sydney ...
pray for us.

We pray for strength and peace for Frank and all those who are grieving.
For the souls of their murderers, that the Hounds of Heaven may chase them down and cause a conversion of heart.

Amen.

I began this by saying that I was unworthy to be mentioned in Mary's piece. True indeed. However, we are all unworthy. If God can use an extremely unworthy example for moving others to a place of realizing the power of forgiveness ... then so be it. I am his to use as he will. It is all his grace.

I Believe in Christmas Miracles ... The Raving Atheist Becomes The Raving Theist

Seriously. It could be a joke but those who know him say it is the real thing.

So says he himself ...

Christ is the Lord

Three years ago, I promoted and appeared in the atheist documentary “The God Who Wasn’t There,” dedicated to the proposition that Jesus never existed.

TODAY I DEDICATE THIS SITE AND MY LIFE TO THE WORSHIP AND SERVICE OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST.

And ... he's Catholic. It don't get much better than that.

Pop over and welcome him.

Via Kenneth Hynek.

"I Thirst": A Window on the Heart of God

These thoughts on God's thirst from Mother Teresa's Secret Fire (discussed here) proved to be surprisingly enlightening during this advent, especially when we consider that we are waiting for God to come into the world in the person of Jesus. Here's a nugget to give you an idea of what hit me.

First of all, what does the thirst of Jesus tell us about God? The symbol of thirst is neither complicated nor hard to understand: As the burning desert yearns for water, so God yearns for our love. As a thirsty man longs for water, so God longs for each of us. As a thirsty man seeks after water, so God seeks after us. As a thirsty man thinks only of water, so God thinks constantly of us: "Even thehairs of your head are all numbered" (Lk 12:7). As a thirsty man will give anything in exchange for water, so God gladly gives all he has, and all he is, in exchange for us: his divinity for our humanity, his holiness for our sin, his paradise in exchange for our pain. ...

Since it would be impossible to give an adequate sense of the infinite longing in the heart of God in mere words, or theological descriptions, God chose to communicate this mystery in metaphor -- that of a burning, relentless, divine "thirst."

Mother Teresa was given a symbol to lift up before the poor that was entirely simple, yet many-faceted; simple enough to touch the hearts of the poor, yet deep enough to engage the intellect of scholars. The Holy spirit portrays God's longing in the most accessible language possible -- that of human experience.

Advertisement of the Week

From Dr. Boli's Celebrated Magazine

It's My Fault, Because I'm Their Father ...

It's a hard thing to learn that you're not half the father you thought you were.

Nothing ever seems to be good enough for my son though; and my daughter seems to always complain that I love him more. And it's my fault because they're my children.

I think if my kids were to ever end up homeless, living on a street and eating at the shelter, my son would be the one at the table complaining about the quality of the soup and my daughter would be complaining that he had a bigger bowl than she did. And it's my fault because they're my children.

Local sportscaster Dale Hansen writes a surprising column with insights that many parents today might want to read as a cautionary note. He regrets being indulgent with gifts but not giving enough time ... especially when seeing how it affected the adults that his children became.

He is a public personality and so it is also a public apology. If his children are the way he says, and from the latest news I have seen featuring his son, I don't see any reason to doubt it ... then I don't envy the scene at his home for Christmas this year. Sometimes that's what happens when you tell it like it is though.

Pittsburgh news will come next week

I was all set to get down to brass tacks on the whole Pittsburgh thing last Friday ... and then, of course, that was put out of my mind by tragedy.

As this week is Christmas and we are all busy I will beg your indulgence once more. As well, I need a little more recovery time to work up a full head of steam for my enthusiasm once again. All shall be revealed next week! I promise!

Mother Teresa: Choosing to believe despite the darkness

I have long meant to share some of the sections from Mother Teresa's Secret Fire (discussed here) that have really spoken to me. This one is so well put that it essentially sums up Mother Teresa's dark night of the soul. Those who care to read more about that might be interested in this review of Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light. However, for those who do not wish to delve to that extent, this section of the book is enlightening. Here's a bit.

But before we move on to explore the secrets of Mother Teresa's interior life, we first need to be sure not to misconstrue her "darkness" -- a darkness God allowed her to experience as a share in the inner night of Calcutta's poorest of the poor. Mother Teresa was wounded with the inner wounds of her people; she bled with them and died with them. God was calling her to share the heavy, if forgotten, inner burdens of the poor, not only their material deprivation. She was to be fixed to the hidden inward cross of the poor, and to be riven by the same interior anguish that Jesus himself had undergone.

But painful as her darkness was, theirs was the true night, the darkness that eats away at faith. In Mother Teresa's time, millions of Calcutta's street population drew their dying breath under the dusty feet of passersby, after having spend an entire existence deprived of any human evidence of a loving God. This was a tragedy not of God's making, but man's -- yet one that burdened not man's heart, but God's. This was the ultimate sense of Mother Teresa's dark night, borne in the name of her God and her poor.

But what of reports that suggested that Mother Teresa had undergone a crisis of faith, or worse, that her smile and her devotion to God and neighbor were little more than hypocrisy? Emphatically, Mother Teresa's dark night was not a "crisis of faith," nor did it represent a wavering on her part. Far from being a loss of faith, her letters reveal instead her hard-fought victory of faith, the triumph of faith's light that shines even in the darkness, for "the darkness has not ovecome it" (Jn 1:5).

The same letters that recount her darkness at the feeling level (not at the level of faith) testify, too, to her unshakable belief, even when she no longer sensed God's presence. Her letters reveal a supreme, even heroic exercise of faith at its zenith, free of dependence on circumstance or feelings. She consistently chose to believe, refusing to turn away from a brilliance once beheld, simply because clouds had covered her inner sky. No matter how long the hours of her night, never once did she suspect that the sun existed no more. Even in the deepest night of her inner Calcutta, she kept her course towards the Day Star, and never lost her way. ...

Mother Teresa's trial of faith is not without precedence in Christian tradition, nor without parallels in Scripture. Recall Jesus' challenge to the Canaanite woman, who, after begging that he cure her daughter, was seemingly rebuffed in the harshest terms. In both cases, Jesus used what appeared to be rejection in order to draw out the fullness of their faith, precisely by challenging that faith to the maximum. Jesus gave each one the chance to surmount his challenges one by one and to stand triumphant as a model for the rest of us. His appreciation of the Canaanite woman could have been addressed just as easily, two thousand years later, to Mother Teresa: "O woman, great is your faith!" (Mt 15:28).

So you know how when you're upset and distracted ...

... and you can do something really stupid because your mind is a million miles away?

I do.

So I've been exceedingly careful when driving or walking around stores since yesterday. Don't want to add a car wreck or knocking someone over to the ills of the day.

However, I was off my guard just a little while ago, planning to do some baking, some house cleaning, to be "normal" even when my thoughts and prayers are those million miles away.

That is just about the time that you discover you probably are washing your iPod nano in the pocket of your jeans. Halfway through the cycle so that your front-loading washer won't let you rescue it.

*sigh*

I might get lucky and find it somewhere unexpected.

But I have a feeling that I am going to see just how well this "stress test" of an iPod turns out. And that Jeanmarie is gently laughing at me from up in heaven.

Worth a Thousand Words

Winter Mist, by D.L. Ennis at Visual Thoughts

Spiritual Warfare

A guest post by Mark Windsor. Thank you Mark, for your prayers and support.

“My name is Legion, for we are many.”

We tend to think of spiritual warfare in either grand terms or in Hollywood clichés. On the larger side, we see it as the good versus evil of modern culture war, abortion, defense of marriage, etc. On the cliché side, we get the likes of The Omen or The Exorcism of Emily Rose. These have one significant thing in common – the evil is an abstraction in both cases. It’s at a distance, and in a form we can deal with psychologically.

But there are moments when evil becomes small and exact and free of cliché. It often comes with surprising speed and clarity, unfathomable fear, and leaves great sadness in its wake. It can come in many forms. It might be the whisper of a welcome temptation or the bluntness of a gunshot. It’s at moments like this that evil can be caught in a bright light and seen for what it really is. But we only see it after the fact, after it’s too late. We feel the bullet strike before we hear the shot.

An event like this took place in Julie’s world around 9:00 this morning. A mother, her eight year old son, and four year old daughter, were shot to death in a quiet, unassuming neighborhood of Dallas. But this seemingly random event echoes to my northern suburb, and to wherever you’re sitting right now, reading these words.

Who did it and why are the questions that first spring to mind, and that’s perfectly natural. But a more pertinent question is - “How”? I don’t mean the how of mechanism. The police already know that – it was a series of gunshots. I mean the how of, “how did this happen in such a quiet place?”

It’s senseless to seek the answer in the obvious. This would lead back to cliché and an abstraction of what really happened. “He had a bad childhood.” “His father beat him” “Poverty is the root of all crime.” “He felt a judgment was unfair.” “He was driven to it by the circumstances of his life.” These are the root causes of the politician or those who seek answers in humanism or sociology. They offer us nothing more than the opportunity to turn our backs, walk away, and resume your lives as if nothing had happened.

The how of this ghastly event is far more fundamental to every human being. For our own peace of mind, sometimes for our own psychological well being, we turn away and hide. But this how is really quite simple.

Evil.

It’s all around us. While it’s true that the law of God is written on every human heart, it’s also true that the baseness of evil is always around us. No human being goes from having the law of God written on their hearts to a terrorizing murderer in one simple step. The evil that he became grew within him over time. Maybe his first temptation was to steal a candy bar from the grocery store just because the thought he could get away with it. Undoubtedly it was something small and long ago. For whatever reason, the temptations kept coming and the will lost the capacity to say no, or even to care. From a first temptation as a child, to this last temptation as an adult, it grew and festered and utterly overcame what was written on his heart by the hand of God himself.

People call this random violence. It’s not random. There’s a pattern. We just can’t see it. This is the nature of evil – to start small and lure men ever so slowly to their doom.

How do you fight evil like this? How do you wage spiritual war against an adversary so cruel?

There is an answer, but it is hard to hear and even harder to live. Who knows what difference it might have made to the man that pulled the trigger if, at just the right moment in his life, someone had spoken to him like Matthew 25:40 really meant something.

And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Matthew 25:40

Take Luke 6:32-38 to heart and live it totally – like your salvation depends on it.

For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.

And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.

If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit (is) that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount.

But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

Be merciful, just as (also) your Father is merciful.

"Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.

Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."

Luke 6:32-38

This is what Paul meant in Ephesians 6:13-19 – the armor of God isn’t made of Kevlar. Be righteous. Live like righteousness matters. It mattered to Paul. It mattered to Christ.

Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace.

In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all (the) flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit. To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication for all the holy ones and also for me, that speech may be given me to open my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, so that I may have the courage to speak as I must.

Ephesians 6:13-19

That is, ultimately the answer – Christ and his Word.

Live your life like Matthew 25:40 really means something. I don't know the people who died today, but I have learned a few things about them in the past eight hours. I may be wrong, but I think they would appreciate that as a testament to their lives.

May God have mercy on us all.

Prayer Request

A dear friend of mine and her two children were found murdered this morning. Please pray for their souls, for her husband, for those of us who are devastated by this terrible news, and ... for the soul of her murderer. May God have mercy on him.

UPDATE
I really cannot write anything right now. I guess that's a sign of how distressed I am, that we all are, when I cannot even think about writing. The beautiful thing is to see how many friends are coming together in different groups saying rosaries for the slain ones and for her husband who is suffering right now in a way that none of us can comprehend. I also am thankful that I heard Immaculee's interviews about forgiveness which I mentioned earlier. It makes it possible for me to pray for the soul of whoever did this terrible thing. St. Maria Goretti, pray for us.

Thank you so much to all those who are praying, whether commenting or not. Mark Windsor very kindly sent me a piece he wrote and it is both eloquent and true. I am posting it as it is a very good reflection on what our priest said last night to a group of us who gathered in mourning, "This is as close to the true face of Evil as we will see in this world."

Haunted by a (Pittsburgh) Hoagie

Ever since an email discussion with two Pittsburgh denizens, I have had images of a sausage hoagie floating through my head ... which a visit to Roadfood and then to Sloppy Talk just made worse.

When, oh when might I get to sample this fare that I long for?

More on that later, dear readers ...

When we feel powerless and need inspiration - Updated

I have a dear friend who is undergoing severe persecution right now. I cannot help her. I can only pray for her.

I have been listening to Immaculee Ilibagiza on Christopher Closeup and Personally Speaking (episodes 130 and 131) talk about living through the Rwandan genocide.

I think about the persecution we read of in the Middle East and China.

Then, there are many people who are struggling spiritually right now during Advent. They feel powerless.

I thank God that I am not among any of these. However, all these instances remind me that there is so much sin and suffering in the world and sometimes it seems to great to bear.

Then I remember that it comes down to each person and their relationship with the living God. That how we reflect His love to those around us is what changes the world, person by person.

One of the ways that helps to inspire me and that helps me to remember this can be found here. Yes, I point this out from time to time, but what can I say? It inspires me.

I remember that though I am small, God is great. He can and will work great and unexpected works through us if we let him. Even though we cannot see the great plan he can. In this we trust.

All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

Julian of Norwich

There's a woman who is embroidering. Her son, seated on a low stool, sees her work, but in reverse. He sees the knots of the embroidery, the tangled threads. He says, "Mother, what are you doing? I can't make out what you are doing!" Then mother lowers the embroidery hoop and shows the good part of the work. Each color is in place that the various threads form a harmonious design. So, we see the reverse side of the embroidery because we are seated on the low stool.

Saint Pio

While we are remembering all this, it never hurts to call in the angelic cavalry either. If all we can do is to pray, then that is our job and we must treat it seriously.

St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

UPDATE

We also must keep in mind that inspiration awaits us sometimes with the very people who are so persecuted. Despite the times that Immaculee wanted to die, she was given the grace to be able to look deep into her persecutors' eyes and forgive them. It is an amazing witness to which I encourage you to listen.

There is also the witness of young Namrata Nayak, whose face was disfigured when Hindi extremists bombed her home, hoping to kill Christians. The Anchoress has the whole story and much more for us. Here is just a bit of Namrata's witness to us.

The world has seen my face destroyed by the fire, now it must come to know my smile full of love and peace…I want to dedicate my life to spreading the Gospel.

[W]e forgive the Hindu radicals who attacked us, who burned our homes…They were out of their minds, they do not know the love of Jesus. For this reason, I now want to study so that when I am older I can tell everyone how much Jesus loves us. This is my future.

Today's Pittsburgh Picture

I truly meant to reveal why I've had Pittsburgh on my mind ... but something came up that prevented the requisite amount of blogging time.

Enjoy this photo today and tomorrow I will ... reveal all!