... I suspect that most current day sixth graders would not do well with these questions either.
Take a look at this 1916 history test from a Brooklyn parochial school. Via Deacon Greg.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
I Blame It All on Hypnotoad and the Egg
They really didn't put their hearts into it ... I must have a very stern talk with them!
Seriously, much thanks to everyone who voted and also to the Weblog Awards folks who worked so hard to give us all so much fun. I can't imagine how much work this was. Just consider the statistics: "This year's turnout was simply amazing; 3.2 million page views, 2 million visitors, and 933,022 votes cast in 48 categories." Wow!
Seriously, much thanks to everyone who voted and also to the Weblog Awards folks who worked so hard to give us all so much fun. I can't imagine how much work this was. Just consider the statistics: "This year's turnout was simply amazing; 3.2 million page views, 2 million visitors, and 933,022 votes cast in 48 categories." Wow!
Congratulations to Father Z. in the Best Religious Blog category and all the winners, who you can see here.
She's Got a Fever
Not for a cowbell though. Heather has blog award mania and lists upcoming awards we can look forward to ... including ... The Catholic Blog Awards!
She's Got a Fever
Not for a cowbell though. Heather has blog award mania and lists upcoming awards we can look forward to ... including ... The Catholic Blog Awards!
A Comment on the Movie Doubt
SPOILERS about ending included.
Rose went to see Doubt yesterday and came back with a positive review. She said the movie was fine, criticized the director for such obvious work of screen angles to make his point ("We get it," she said, "There is doubt. You can stop canting [slanting] the angles so much. Sheez.") Well, I never knew that was the point of some "canted angles" so moving on.
My question was about the story line since that is a movie I don't feel interested in seeing. Rose was surprised and quite pleased that the very traditional nun was the one who was right instead of going with the easy ending of criticizing her and letting the pleasant priest be right. She said that there was very little doubt left via many small clues by the end of the movie that the priest had been a child molester, that his mother allowed it, and that the only one standing up for the kid was the unlikable, strict nun played by Meryl Streep. In fact, the indictment against the Church for moving him and making him pastor of another parish was made all the stronger for her reaction.
This brings to mind something that a friend of mine said once (maybe it was Marcia?), that the decrease in nuns was among the many factors that helped create the conditions of the Church's sex scandal. "They kept an eye on the priests," she said. "Nothing got by them."
Turning over the plot of that movie it sounds as if the screenwriter (who I believe was also the director) knew that well.
Rose went to see Doubt yesterday and came back with a positive review. She said the movie was fine, criticized the director for such obvious work of screen angles to make his point ("We get it," she said, "There is doubt. You can stop canting [slanting] the angles so much. Sheez.") Well, I never knew that was the point of some "canted angles" so moving on.
My question was about the story line since that is a movie I don't feel interested in seeing. Rose was surprised and quite pleased that the very traditional nun was the one who was right instead of going with the easy ending of criticizing her and letting the pleasant priest be right. She said that there was very little doubt left via many small clues by the end of the movie that the priest had been a child molester, that his mother allowed it, and that the only one standing up for the kid was the unlikable, strict nun played by Meryl Streep. In fact, the indictment against the Church for moving him and making him pastor of another parish was made all the stronger for her reaction.
This brings to mind something that a friend of mine said once (maybe it was Marcia?), that the decrease in nuns was among the many factors that helped create the conditions of the Church's sex scandal. "They kept an eye on the priests," she said. "Nothing got by them."
Turning over the plot of that movie it sounds as if the screenwriter (who I believe was also the director) knew that well.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Upcoming Events
March for Life
Tom and I will be there for the Mass and the March, meeting Heather early at the church to pray some of the rosary.I was shocked last year to hear that the thousand of us who showed up were the largest number they'd ever had. Like most people I know, I had assumed that everyone else was showing up. Don't make that assumption. The only numbers politicians will really understand are large numbers of people moved enough to show up in the middle of winter to defend unborn babies' lives.
Full details can be found here for the Dallas March for Life.
Mark Shea is Coming to Dallas Wylie!
Mark Shea is coming to Dallas! Woohoo! Tom and I will be there as well. I think that Heather will be there also and maybe some other pals of mine.It is free but they are requesting pre-registration in order to plan for the lunch. St. Anthony's website is here. You can download a newsletter and various posters that have information about upcoming talks.
It's the Last Day to Kiss the Egg!
Finally, I hear you saying, those darned Weblog Awards will be done!
Yes, but not without a last exhortation to kiss the egg for the little Jamaican bobsled team in this race.
We're going for second place but we'll give it all we've got.
So, c'mon ... kiss the egg!
Yes, but not without a last exhortation to kiss the egg for the little Jamaican bobsled team in this race.
We're going for second place but we'll give it all we've got.
So, c'mon ... kiss the egg!
(And if you don't know what that means
then get to a video store and catch up on Cool Runnings)
then get to a video store and catch up on Cool Runnings)
Also of interest: This article which identifies what we largely know ... most blog awards are popularity contests, no matter how they try to balance nominations and award selection. The results can be swayed by blogs who flog the vote. This was written by a blogger finalist for the Weblog awards who promised his readers he wouldn't ask for their votes (noble fellow ...)
I would just like to take this opportunity to say ... what awards aren't popularity contests? Isn't that the point? Popularity means that something is commonly liked or approved. The Oscars? C'mon ... Heath Ledge will be nominated for Best Supporting Actor and probably win. He deserves it for his excellent acting but we all know that underlying that is his early, tragic death. Let's take something that is not nearly as well known ... The Hugo Awards for science fiction. Run by and voted on by fans. Yep, fans.
As for flogging the vote, that too goes on throughout the awards worlds. More, it is the tone of the flogging that I would wonder about than the fact that it happens. Around here, the only reason for it is to have fun with a contest which (let's face it) I'm not going to win. But I'm going to enjoy it anyway ... and hopefully others will as well. If I were a definite front-runner then I'd drop it altogether because it wouldn't be sporting. Not everyone takes this attitude, but let's face it. These are blog awards that mean exactly nothing if we aren't having fun. Truly, these are the awards where anyone who is a finalist is already a winner simply because of the numbers of people submitting nominations.
Ironically, the person who wrote the article ... sent it to me via email saying, "I thought this was something you and your readers would find interesting." Flogging readership for his article? Why I believe he is ...
Gene Wolfe Doesn't Get the Feminine Mind-Set
Warning: spoiler in the last paragraph.
An Evil Guest by Gene Wolfe is a pulp thriller that includes aliens, South Sea gods, and two enigmatic men vying for the hand of a young actress on the rise. Imagine the results if Raymond Chandler, H.P. Lovecraft, and Walter B.Gibson (creator of The Shadow) all conspired to write a book together, set 100 years in our future. Despite how odd that sounds, the first two-thirds of the book is fairly straight forward. When you get to the last part, it suddenly takes off as if a rocket was lit under you and the reader is left hanging on for all they're worth to keep up.
It is a fun ride and one that I enjoyed. Except for a key part of logic, it all held together. Unfortunately that key logic is integral to the very last line of the book which sums it all up. Essentially describing the reasons for a complete change of heart, actress Cassie delivers a long monologue while walking down the street with a friend. It rang so false that I was convinced she was doing it to poke for reactions of possible betrayal from her friend. Not so. It turns out that the change of heart described, which rang so falsely, was intended to give Cassie the reason for every subsequent action she takes. It took me a long time to realize that but I was able to suspend my disbelief until reading the last line of the book, which depends completely upon our belief in that speech.
No takers here. If that is how Wolfe and his editors think that a woman can change her mind in the way described about a man who she loathes and fears, then they have another think coming. If one is going to hang an entire section of a book, indeed that book's denouement, upon one set of emotions entirely replacing another, then that part at least needs to be real and human and ring true. Perhaps few women read Wolfe's books. I don't know about that. However, as one who does I can testify that such a patently false shift in Cassie's motivation feels like a cheap, easy trick a la "a shot rang out and everyone fell dead." Certainly it makes me lose respect for the author and editors who simply seem lazy in retrospect. It's too bad because I really liked the book and was willing to overlook the false feel until that final line which tied everything to Cassie's faked feelings.
An Evil Guest by Gene Wolfe is a pulp thriller that includes aliens, South Sea gods, and two enigmatic men vying for the hand of a young actress on the rise. Imagine the results if Raymond Chandler, H.P. Lovecraft, and Walter B.Gibson (creator of The Shadow) all conspired to write a book together, set 100 years in our future. Despite how odd that sounds, the first two-thirds of the book is fairly straight forward. When you get to the last part, it suddenly takes off as if a rocket was lit under you and the reader is left hanging on for all they're worth to keep up.
It is a fun ride and one that I enjoyed. Except for a key part of logic, it all held together. Unfortunately that key logic is integral to the very last line of the book which sums it all up. Essentially describing the reasons for a complete change of heart, actress Cassie delivers a long monologue while walking down the street with a friend. It rang so false that I was convinced she was doing it to poke for reactions of possible betrayal from her friend. Not so. It turns out that the change of heart described, which rang so falsely, was intended to give Cassie the reason for every subsequent action she takes. It took me a long time to realize that but I was able to suspend my disbelief until reading the last line of the book, which depends completely upon our belief in that speech.
No takers here. If that is how Wolfe and his editors think that a woman can change her mind in the way described about a man who she loathes and fears, then they have another think coming. If one is going to hang an entire section of a book, indeed that book's denouement, upon one set of emotions entirely replacing another, then that part at least needs to be real and human and ring true. Perhaps few women read Wolfe's books. I don't know about that. However, as one who does I can testify that such a patently false shift in Cassie's motivation feels like a cheap, easy trick a la "a shot rang out and everyone fell dead." Certainly it makes me lose respect for the author and editors who simply seem lazy in retrospect. It's too bad because I really liked the book and was willing to overlook the false feel until that final line which tied everything to Cassie's faked feelings.
Monday, January 12, 2009
I Didn't Want It to Come to This, But You Give Me No Choice ...
As my brother put it, the Religious blog weblog award category is like watching Tiger Woods. One person is solidly in front and the rest fight it out for second.
I see that Father Dwight is getting worried ... let's take it to him (isn't that the good ol' Catholic fightin' spirit I've always heard of?)
I am a fairly peaceful person though and I really don't want to fight it out. I will simply turn to that which has stood us in good stead before.
Listen carefully and go vote for Happy Catholic in the 2009 Weblog Awards.
You may then turn off your computer ... you will remember nothing of this later ...
UPDATE
Don't forget to vote for The Anchoress who used to be way ahead but now has fallen behind thanks to some folks who just can't relax and have fun but have to make everything into a left versus right contest. *sigh*
As The Anchoress said on Friday, "I’m being told that some “lefty” sites are trying to co-ordinate to defeat me ... That always cracks me up; it’s so schoolyard. No matter what I still get my nifty “finalist” button, and I much prefer looking at the “awards” as good-natured fun, and not some absurd cut-throat matter."
I applaud her good nature but will keep voting anyway ... vote for her here.
I see that Father Dwight is getting worried ... let's take it to him (isn't that the good ol' Catholic fightin' spirit I've always heard of?)
I am a fairly peaceful person though and I really don't want to fight it out. I will simply turn to that which has stood us in good stead before.
Hypnotoad!
Listen carefully and go vote for Happy Catholic in the 2009 Weblog Awards.
You may then turn off your computer ... you will remember nothing of this later ...
UPDATE
Don't forget to vote for The Anchoress who used to be way ahead but now has fallen behind thanks to some folks who just can't relax and have fun but have to make everything into a left versus right contest. *sigh*
As The Anchoress said on Friday, "I’m being told that some “lefty” sites are trying to co-ordinate to defeat me ... That always cracks me up; it’s so schoolyard. No matter what I still get my nifty “finalist” button, and I much prefer looking at the “awards” as good-natured fun, and not some absurd cut-throat matter."
I applaud her good nature but will keep voting anyway ... vote for her here.
Jewish and Catholic Tradition
I came across this in the Intellectual Devotional (which I love) and it really struck home. I didn't realize that Catholic Tradition has its roots so firmly in Jewish Tradition. It makes complete sense since so many of our customs and devotions were developed from those that the first Christians had practiced in their Jewish faith before conversion. It also gives another leg to stand on when discussing Tradition with Protestant friends who often have been told that Catholics came up with this concept out of thin air. What a useful and fascinating tidbit of information.
From the beginning, the Torah was accompanied by an oral tradition, which was necessary for its complete understanding. Although it was thought to be blasphemous to write the oral tradition down, the necessity for doing so eventually became apparent, leading to the creation of the Mishna. Later, as rabbis discussed and debated these two texts, the Talmud was written in order to compile their arguments.The Intellectual Devotional
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Review: The Beauty of Grace Calendar
I think I've said before that I'm hazy on the whole concept of indulgences. Oh, I get the big picture but applying it to my life and circumstances is something that I have a tenuous hold on at best.
This 2009 Calendar of Indulgences logically lays out the foundation and understanding of indulgences and then follows that up with monthly information about opportunities. As well, they continue with education by featuring quote from saints, defenses of Catholic concepts such as veneration of Mary, and prayers. Calendar days are marked with saints days and handy reminders about regular practices like confession. It is all excellent information and would be welcome in any Catholic home.
At this point it is only fair to mention that I have an extremely high standard when it comes to design and production. In fact, there is a certain cookbook which I cannot bring myself to open because the terrible layout causes me such pain.
This calendar is not in that category but definitely could have benefited from a more subtle hand in the layout. Generally layout is perfectly adequate and the friends I showed it to did not wince the way that our household did when they were viewing it.Shadows are not necessary nearly as often or as dark. Certainly the printer's logo need not be on every page. The back cover would surely suffice. Lighter colors could have been used practically everywhere in order to better enhance the monthly photos of lovely Church murals. They are still lovely, to be sure, but the overall layout tends to distract from them.
As I said, these layout problems are in this viewer's eye and probably will not be noticed by the regular calendar user. This is an excellent educational and informational calendar and I definitely recommend it.
This review was written as part of The Catholic Company product reviewer program. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on 2009 Calendar of Indulgences.
Other Catholic Company reviews may be found here. You can find all active reviews of this product here.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Ok, I know it's wrong to pray for votes ...
... so I'll just politely remind everyone that Happy Catholic has now edged further into third place ... and Father Longenecker is only (ha ... only!) two hundred votes ahead.
Ok, never mind. Miracles happen ... though admittedly usually not for that sort of thing.
Look, don't make me break out the secret weapon. Let's make this easy.
You can vote daily in the Weblog Awards ... let's get out there and kiss the egg!
(Kiss the egg you ask? What's up with that?
For the pop-culturally deficient, here's the scoop.)
For the pop-culturally deficient, here's the scoop.)
So Again We Hear That San Antonio is the Spot for the 2009 Catholic New Media Celebration - Updated
Jen at Conversion Diary heard it and I believe her.
Now, how about if instead of just talking about it on a podcast occasionally there were a few updates made to the website so we could take a look at dates?
Not that I'm excited about this or anything.
Let me just say this. There is nothing like San Antonio, one of America's unique cities ... and our family uses any excuse to go. THEN add in the chance to see a bunch of the bloggers and podcasters that I feel I already know?
I. am. there.
If only anyone would write something down about it. C'mon gang, I'm beggin' here.
UPDATE
I got an email from The Catholic Company which says the date is June 27. So we can pencil that in until a certain website is updated ...
Now, how about if instead of just talking about it on a podcast occasionally there were a few updates made to the website so we could take a look at dates?
Not that I'm excited about this or anything.
Let me just say this. There is nothing like San Antonio, one of America's unique cities ... and our family uses any excuse to go. THEN add in the chance to see a bunch of the bloggers and podcasters that I feel I already know?
I. am. there.
If only anyone would write something down about it. C'mon gang, I'm beggin' here.
UPDATE
I got an email from The Catholic Company which says the date is June 27. So we can pencil that in until a certain website is updated ...
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The Evolution of Technology
A German ad for Saturn, from the ad agency Scholz&Friends. I have been told that Saturn is a consumer electronics chain. Via Miss Cellania (whose site occasionally contains explicit content).
I Confess That I'm Really Enjoying ...
... the horse race taking place for second place in the Best Religious Blogs award. (Is it very wrong that every time I think of Father Z and his award domination, I inevitably am drawn to think of World War Z? Maybe it's just the letter "Z" ... yeah, that's it. Not the hopelessness of trying to overcome that lead ...)
Anyway, Happy Catholic has slightly edged into third place. Let's go for second! C'mon, y'all. I have faith (well, duh!). We can do it!
Don't forget that you can vote in the Weblog Awards every day. C'mon people, kiss the egg!
(Kiss the egg you ask? What's up with that? For the pop-culturally deficient, here's the scoop.)
This Just In ... The Raving Theist is Very Punny
His daily headlines have had me in stitches and now that he turns his powers on one of his amiable commenting pals ... with the full force of a basket of kittens behind it ... I am falling down laughing.
Just How Much Does God Love You?
After reading an excerpt about God's divine thirst and love for us (from Mother Teresa's Secret Fire), Jane wrote a great post about coming to that realization herself. The money quote that I think we should all take and apply to our own lives.
... At some point, I started getting nudges that God loved me.That is so perfect because it makes the immediateness of God in our lives so real, so tangible. (Except God leaves me Butterfingers or halvah.) Go read the entire post ... you may want to first read the excerpt linked above because she tells you to do that anyway ... and then go on to read her further meditations upon how we define and limit God. This is just where the book goes and I will be providing some further excerpts for that as well later on.
But not in that intellectual, “God loves me, all is good” kind of way, but rather, “I would run through fire to be with you. I wait by the phone hoping you’ll call. When the mail comes, I’m disappointed if there isn’t a letter from you. I stalk your Twitter account to see what you’ve been up to. When I’m at the grocery store, I see the Ritter Sport marzipans in the candy aisle and I buy a package to leave on your desk so you’ll find them in the morning.”
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Seven Archangels: Annihilation is up for a Reader's Choice Award
You may recall that I was pretty enthusiastic about Seven Archangels: Annihilation by Jane Lebak.
So I was delighted to find that her book is currently in second place in the Preditors & Editors Readers' Poll which is open until January 14.
If you read the book and liked it, I encourage you to vote. No matter what it is interesting to take a look at all the different titles there.
You also may be interested in Jane's blog, Seven angels, four kids, one family. Jane is consistently self aware, down-to-earth, and ... you know this matters to me ... hilarious.
So I was delighted to find that her book is currently in second place in the Preditors & Editors Readers' Poll which is open until January 14.
If you read the book and liked it, I encourage you to vote. No matter what it is interesting to take a look at all the different titles there.
You also may be interested in Jane's blog, Seven angels, four kids, one family. Jane is consistently self aware, down-to-earth, and ... you know this matters to me ... hilarious.
4th Place? Really? Did You Know I Have the Space Pope's Encorsement?
I didn't want to have to pull out the big guns ... but, there you go. Also His Crocodylus insisted and who am I to argue?
(Also, I've gotta thank The Anchoress for her real life endorsement ... I'm blushing ... well, not so much that I'm not telling you about it but ... anyway, thanks Anchoress!)
Don't forget that you can vote in the Weblog Awards every day. C'mon people, kiss the egg!
(Kiss the egg you ask? What's up with that? For the pop-culturally deficient, here's the scoop.)
Who Do You Call When the Internet Goes Down?
It just makes sense! From Dr. Boli's Celebrated Magazine.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
10,000 Hours, Prayer, and Mother Teresa
Now that this is written, I see it is one of my "pondering" posts. Ready to follow those connection? Don't say I didn't warn ya. It's long, baby, long!
I was thinking over my New Year's resolution to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, in essence three times a day using Magnificat which I already receive to use for our priest's weekly scripture study class. (For more specifics about the Liturgy of the hours, look to Will Duquette at The View from the Foothills and Jen at Conversion Diary who blogged about their experiences taking up this daily prayer.) I have said before that I don't make New Year's resolutions which I don't in terms of something big and new to change my life. What I do is tend to make that one of the three or four times annually that I renew various resolutions to incrementally move forward. Occasionally, I actually do move forward. Which is so gratifying that I can then reset that resolution up a notch for more improvement.
A couple of days ago, that 10,000 hours and daily prayer collided in my brain. I suddenly realized, "How do we get good at prayer? We need 10,000 hours!" Perhaps I don't need to tell you the simultaneous feelings of triumphant discovery and of dismay that resounded. After all, those of us in regular life are unlikely to spend an entire hour a day at prayer. I mean to say ... 10,000 days ... why that's ... wait, 365 days a year ... where's a calculator ... oh never mind, I already know the answer. Oy veh, that's a whole lotta prayer!
Right. Steady, daily prayer, for our whole lives. Got it.
Now it isn't as if I haven't known this, read it, heard it around, sagely nodded my head at it. After all, who in their right mind would think that they could get to know someone really well with maybe 10, 15 minutes a day talking to that person? And with us doing most of the talking?
It is not that I do not pray. I do in little bits here and there all day long, but it is about the mundane things of every day life, the "help me to stay patient" that in a marriage would be something like, "can you take the trash out, honey?" Hard to build and maintain a deep relationship on that.
Somehow combining all this with the actual idea of 10,000 hours hit hard. I carried it around with me at the same time as it made it much more compelling to pick up that Magnificat thrice daily and make a serious effort to find silence and to dive deeper than I have been lately into listening as well as speaking.
Then last night I was reading Mother Teresa's Secret Fire in the most comfortable of circumstances. A cold, sleeting night outside, Hannah's head on my shoulder as she napped. Occasionally I would read her "this great little piece" from the book (she may have been napping in self defense). Rose leaning on Tom's shoulder on another couch as they worked together on a problem in exporting a video clip with a transparent background mask (or maybe without ... I couldn't tell) and their voices occasionally good-naturedly rising in: "Oh, you film people don't get it ..." "Oh, you graphics people ..."
I meant to only read one chapter but was drawn on and on. It is written that way, so simple but compelling at the same time. The book tells us of how Mother Teresa was transformed by God and then leads us to consider how we are called for that same sort of transformation. The chapter about the mystery of prayer didn't hit me like a brick but gently was integrated into my previous thinking as a natural progression. The following excerpts are cobbled together from the chapter to give you a taste. In a nutshell let me give you this summary: "What can be more important than prayer?"
As I say, I already know this. In fact, at various times in my life I actually have done it. However, it is so easy to fall away from doing into talking about something as if it were being done.
Perhaps in addition to that 10,000 hours, I need 10,000 reminders. At any rate, I will begin again ... I have at least 10,000 hours of listening and conversation to achieve and I need to start now.
One other thing. As I read that section about Mother Teresa's transformation I thought, "But I don't want to be transformed into Mother Teresa." Of course, that was a knee-jerk reaction. We all know the answer, right? The one that shot into my head immediately. "I don't want you to be Mother Teresa. I want you to be you."
Yes. Time to get started.
... ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert -- in anything. In study after study, of composers, basketball players, fiction writers, ice skaters, concert pianists, chess players, master criminals, and what have you, this number comes up again and again. Ten thousand hours is the equivalent to roughly three hours per day, or twenty hours per week, of practice over ten years. Of course, this doesn't address why some people don't seem to get anywhere when they practice, and why some people get more out of their practice sessions than others. But no one has yet found a case in which true world-class expertise was accomplished in less time. It seems that it takes the brain this long to assimilate all that it needs to know to achieve true mastery.My husband came across this concept when reading Your Brain on Music and it resonated. This is because we are at that age of life when we have put in 10,000 hours and more during our careers. It is also because he was trying to pinpoint how best to get across the "practice, practice, practice" concept to a new employee. This did it in a nutshell. Once we knew about the 10,000 hours it seemed as if we saw it everywhere. Often it was not communicated using that exact phrase which has been picked up by pop-sociologist Malcolm Gladwell and now is relatively common. However, the concept always was there. It is one that mankind knew for most of our history, that to be very good, a master of something, one must continually strive to be better. In other words: practice.Dr. Daniel Levitin, Your Brain on Music
I was thinking over my New Year's resolution to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, in essence three times a day using Magnificat which I already receive to use for our priest's weekly scripture study class. (For more specifics about the Liturgy of the hours, look to Will Duquette at The View from the Foothills and Jen at Conversion Diary who blogged about their experiences taking up this daily prayer.) I have said before that I don't make New Year's resolutions which I don't in terms of something big and new to change my life. What I do is tend to make that one of the three or four times annually that I renew various resolutions to incrementally move forward. Occasionally, I actually do move forward. Which is so gratifying that I can then reset that resolution up a notch for more improvement.
A couple of days ago, that 10,000 hours and daily prayer collided in my brain. I suddenly realized, "How do we get good at prayer? We need 10,000 hours!" Perhaps I don't need to tell you the simultaneous feelings of triumphant discovery and of dismay that resounded. After all, those of us in regular life are unlikely to spend an entire hour a day at prayer. I mean to say ... 10,000 days ... why that's ... wait, 365 days a year ... where's a calculator ... oh never mind, I already know the answer. Oy veh, that's a whole lotta prayer!
Right. Steady, daily prayer, for our whole lives. Got it.
Now it isn't as if I haven't known this, read it, heard it around, sagely nodded my head at it. After all, who in their right mind would think that they could get to know someone really well with maybe 10, 15 minutes a day talking to that person? And with us doing most of the talking?
It is not that I do not pray. I do in little bits here and there all day long, but it is about the mundane things of every day life, the "help me to stay patient" that in a marriage would be something like, "can you take the trash out, honey?" Hard to build and maintain a deep relationship on that.
Somehow combining all this with the actual idea of 10,000 hours hit hard. I carried it around with me at the same time as it made it much more compelling to pick up that Magnificat thrice daily and make a serious effort to find silence and to dive deeper than I have been lately into listening as well as speaking.
Then last night I was reading Mother Teresa's Secret Fire in the most comfortable of circumstances. A cold, sleeting night outside, Hannah's head on my shoulder as she napped. Occasionally I would read her "this great little piece" from the book (she may have been napping in self defense). Rose leaning on Tom's shoulder on another couch as they worked together on a problem in exporting a video clip with a transparent background mask (or maybe without ... I couldn't tell) and their voices occasionally good-naturedly rising in: "Oh, you film people don't get it ..." "Oh, you graphics people ..."
I meant to only read one chapter but was drawn on and on. It is written that way, so simple but compelling at the same time. The book tells us of how Mother Teresa was transformed by God and then leads us to consider how we are called for that same sort of transformation. The chapter about the mystery of prayer didn't hit me like a brick but gently was integrated into my previous thinking as a natural progression. The following excerpts are cobbled together from the chapter to give you a taste. In a nutshell let me give you this summary: "What can be more important than prayer?"
"My secret is simple...I pray."In other words, quit thinking and talking about prayer and take the time to go do it. Repeatedly. Faithfully in faith.
She knew that everything stands or falls depending on the depth of one's prayer. Our transformation depends entirely on God and, therefore, on our conscious contact with him -- and so, "What can be more important than prayer?"
If prayer unlocks the door to our encounter, then the key that unlocks the door to prayer is faith -- the sum of our freely chosen, actively applied convictions about god. But faith is more than the sum content of belief -- it is above all the act of belief. It is the act of clinging in the night to an unseen sun, and by that simple act bringing the fullness of that sun within us; as St. Paul writes, "[May] Christ ... dwell in your hearts by faith" (Eph 3:17). Faith is a virtue; it is that God-driven, beyond-human power ("virtue," from the Latin virtus, meaning "power") to place ourselves, with or without feeling, in direct and intimate contact with the very God in whom we believe:Prayer is the fruit of faith. If we have faith, we will want to pray.[...]
Faith determines the boundaries and the horizon of our entire spiritual life. We do not need more information about our faith, as much as we need more actual faith -- more conscious faith-contact in our daily prayer-encounters with God. The dimensions of our faith become the exact dimensions, large or small, through which God and his love must pass in order to reach us. God's gifts are not a reward for our faith; they are instead the direct consequence of our faith, the result of opening with the faith-portal between our soul and the Almighty.
[...]
We cannot change ourselves, no matter how long or hard we try. Love along changes us. We can only be loved into a new life -- and most powerfully, by the One who is love. The source of all love, source of all the goodness we saw in Mother Teresa, abides within each one of us. Were we able to interrupt our hurried lives and take the time to go within, we would gradually find ourselves caught up in this tide of divinizing, transforming love. But this process can only be started through prayer. It is only in prayer that we access god's unlimited love, and unleash its transforming effects in our lives.
This transformative process begins in the innermost recesses of the soul and moves outward -- to embrace thoughts, emotions, activities, and the whole of one's being. That Mother Teresa's transformation came about through prayer was confirmed in her own words: "My secret is simple -- I pray." ...
There is a simple key to fruitful prayer. It is to first take the time to touch God in faith before we engage in prayer, to be in a state of contact with him before "saying" prayers. Simply put, it is to "pray before you pray."
This simple practice can change our experience of prayer. This may seem like a small adjustment, but it opens us onto a reality as large and powerful as God himself. Without conscious faith, our prayer is not true contact, not prayer at all, but simply cogitation. Transformation is God's free gift, but it is only our free act of contact in faith that makes that gift possible. We will still encounter struggles and distractions -- but we will at least be touching the hem of his robe, however briefly, every day of our lives.
[...]Love to pray, feel often during the day the need for prayer and take the trouble to pray. If you want to pray better, you must pray more. Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God's gift of Himself. Ask and seek and your heart will grow big enough to receive Him and keep Him as your own.
As I say, I already know this. In fact, at various times in my life I actually have done it. However, it is so easy to fall away from doing into talking about something as if it were being done.
Perhaps in addition to that 10,000 hours, I need 10,000 reminders. At any rate, I will begin again ... I have at least 10,000 hours of listening and conversation to achieve and I need to start now.
One other thing. As I read that section about Mother Teresa's transformation I thought, "But I don't want to be transformed into Mother Teresa." Of course, that was a knee-jerk reaction. We all know the answer, right? The one that shot into my head immediately. "I don't want you to be Mother Teresa. I want you to be you."
Yes. Time to get started.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Epiphany 2009 Homily
Our deacon very kindly sent me the mp3 to the homily he gave which inspired so much thought. I have embedded it in the Epiphany post, which you can find here with my reflections.
Or if you are interested but don't want to wade through my longwindedness ... here you go. Enjoy!
Or if you are interested but don't want to wade through my longwindedness ... here you go. Enjoy!
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