Critique in Haiku

Not exactly challenged by Mike Aquilina, nevertheless I was intrigued by his joke that the next step after my short WSJ letter was ... haiku.

Here goes nuttin':

Author shows bad thought
Expecting road map from pope
Truth is in our hearts

From Aaron to Zuzim, It's Covered in This Catholic Concordance

Update: This post has only been showing about half the actual entry. If it didn't make much sense when you first dropped by please give it another look-see.

I am truly impressed by this concordance. The editors' goal was to make it accessible to everyone and it seems as if they hit their goal, since I would be the "everyday Jane" who has never seen a concordance until this one landed on my doorstep. In fact, I had to look up the definition of a concordance to see how well this book did or didn't match expectations: "an alphabetical index of the principal words in a book or the works of an author with their immediate contexts."

Here is an example so you can see how a listing looks. Keep in mind that the main word is indicated with the capital letter that begins the word. You'll see what I mean here...

HANGS (3)
Job 26:7 over the void, and H the earth upon nothing
Is 33:23 Your tackle H loose; it cannot hold the mast
Gal 3:13 be every one who H on a tree" --

This is a really short listing. The longest one that Tom and I found was for "King" which took 47 pages. Yes, you read that right. 47 pages.

It seems exhaustively researched and will be a true asset for anybody who needs a good way to look up words and cross-references in the Bible. The books and verse references for each word are easy to see and it is actually pretty interesting to find places where a particular word is used frequently that we might not expect. In this way, it opens up the Bible to the casual browser as well as the serious researcher. This is the first and only concordance for the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition of the Bible.

Features:

• An alphabetical listing of every word in the RSV-CE
• Over 15,000 words and 300,000 entries
• Entries show context for easy comparison of verses
• Passages listed for both the first and second editions of the RSV-CE
• Allows swift location of passages on any topic

It's All Downhill from Here

A little midweek humor instruction, courtesy of Dr. Boli who explains some of the common regulatory signs, which are usually square or rectangular, white in color, with black lettering and red symbols.

Phenakistoscopes Prohibited During Rush Hour

Phenakistoscopes and other distractions cause backups or worse when traffic is heavy. Use phenakistoscopes responsibly, and put them away during rush hour.

Dr. Boli earns my sincere thanks for introducing me to the phenakistoscope, of which I was ignorant until now. I will promptly acquire one so that I may then put it away at the regulated times.

Economics Isn't Jesus's Main Focus: My Letter to the WSJ (and some other good links)

Now there was a surprise when Tom held out this morning's editorial section of The Wall Street Journal. My letter, which I had forgotten, was published. True, it was edited and tidied up some but Tom said it read well and I certainly like a newspaper which has the guts to print Jesus' name in a letter header. Isn't it sad that such a thing can be considered gutsy these days? Tom pointed out that they undoubtedly received more letters on the subject and said that mine was chosen to represent all those viewpoints in the national newspaper with the largest subscription rate in the country.

Gee, I was already proud. Now I'm insufferably proud.

It may have been edited because my opening sentences were rather condemnatory, possibly needlessly so now that I read it over again. Then again it may have been a space issue as there were two long but very interesting letters from much more famous people than I. One was by Lawrence S. Eagleburger (secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush) about nuclear policy. Fascinating and you should go read it.

The other from Wang Baodong (Spokesman, Chinese Embassy, Washington), began:

The Chinese government and people are very much displeased with the Journal's decision to publish Rebiya Kadeer's "The Real Story of the Uighur Riots" (op-ed, July 8), which is full of political lies and separatist rhetoric that are schemed to mislead the American public.

Honestly, after such an opening paragraph that is chock full of its own sort of rhetoric, one simply sits back and prepares to enjoy the show. It was spectacular I must admit. I do encourage you to go read the lengthy missive which is designed to leave one standing at attention, singing the Chinese anthem.

At any rate, here is my letter with the edited material in brackets. As I say, they edited it nicely though I would have wished for a bit more of an intro to the subject. However, let us not look a gift horse in the mouth.

[Tyler Cowden's article, Vaticanomics: The Holy Father Tackles Globalization, does not examine the encyclical in-depth as much as to expose Cowden's own lack of intellectual development.

One is always wise to consider the source and the intended results of a work before excoriating them. Cowden apparently did neither. True enough, Pope Benedict XVI did not set forth the tightly focused global economic plan that Cowden apparently was awaiting as a blueprint for a better future.] True to his master's calling (that would be Jesus Christ, in case Cowden needs a refresher), Pope Benedict instead is calling for a change in men's hearts and minds so that they themselves may reflect their inward spiritual growth outward for positive change in their own societies. This is the goal that has always been set forth for every Christian. Likewise Cowden's sneers about China and India being ignored show his lack of understanding that the pope holds these goals for "all men of good will," meaning the entire world.

Jesus did not preach against slavery or the Roman government's economic plan, and then put forth a blueprint for men to achieve economic gains. He was after something more ethereal and infinitely more precious, men's hearts and souls. Thus Pope Benedict follows in Jesus' footsteps in his encyclical. It is both sad and telling that Cowden expected otherwise. He would do well to read and reflect upon Father Sirico's editorial, "The Pope on Love in Truth," in your own publication, which reminds those who need it that "to this pope's mind, there is no just or moral system without just and moral people."

As I say, there will be no living with me now!

Editorial focus aside, here are some other great articles that I enjoyed this morning:

• Prime Time for Steak Lovers: High-end beef that was once available only at steak houses and expensive restaurants is increasingly showing up in retail butcher cases.


• Software That Makes Twitter So Much Tweeter: Twitter messaging can be improved by employing software programs that customize it and require little work on the part of the user


• The Tragedy of Michael Jackson: The self-proclaimed King of Pop was nobody's victim.


• Spun: The Off-the-Wall Accounting of Record Sales: Confusion over songs versus albums and scant historical data have inflated record-sales tallies for Michael Jackson and other pop superstars.


• Teaching Kids About Money the Hard Way: Stricter bank policies and a new credit-card law are making it harder to raise financially independent young adults, and encouraging parents to interfere with—and even bail out—their kids.


• Weighing the Price and Value of Colleges: Old dreams of children earning degrees from elite colleges are falling away in favor of a new pragmatism as families face shrunken savings and borrowing options.

Creepy ... and Unutterably Sad

My friend Susan sent me the link to this story about a famed conductor who, together with his wife, killed themselves in a Swiss assisted suicide clinic.

The couple's children said Tuesday that the couple died "peacefully and under circumstances of their own choosing" on Friday at a Zurich clinic run by the group Dignitas.

"After 54 happy years together, they decided to end their own lives rather than continue to struggle with serious health problems," said a statement from the couple's son and daughter, Caractacus and Boudicca.

The statement said Downes, who became Sir Edward when he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991, had become almost blind and increasingly deaf. His wife, a former dancer, choreographer and television producer, had devoted years to working as his assistant. British newspapers reported that she had been diagnosed with cancer.

Dignitas founder Ludwig A. Minelli said he could not confirm the deaths due to confidentiality rules.

Downes' manager, Jonathan Groves, said he was shocked by the couple's deaths, but called their decision "typically brave and courageous."

"Brave and courageous" ... I do not think that means what he thinks it means. Taking the easy way out would be my assessment.

Brave and courageous is someone like Pope John Paul II who gave and gave and gave of himself for us without counting the cost until he could give no more, until his soul shone like a diamond. Let's face it, none of us seek suffering but equally none of us can avoid it in this life. I think of the graces I have received during those times and then of the good that this mistaken couple may have both given and received should they have chosen courageously to live until their natural end. I pray for their souls, for those in Dignitas, and for their children.

Stunning Photos That Look Like They're Photoshopped But They're Not

We're all so used to photo manipulation these days that we are a somewhat jaded audience. Until one sees the truly stunning effects that can be achieved with real photography. The Fire Dancer above is one such. Check out the others here.

Prayer and Bible Reading: Listening to God

Having recently finished Father McBride's Guide to the Bible and enjoying the focus on salvation history (samples begin here), I thought I would continue by actually finishing two other books I have. I began both these long ago and have dipped into them to do some research, but never have I read them methodically from beginning to end.

• A Catholic Guide to the Bible by Oscar Lukefahr
• You Can Understand the Bible by Peter Kreeft (my review here)
  

I find them to be good companions because Lukefahr states things in a more basic way while Kreeft, as can be his wont, ranges farther afield sometimes.

I have shared some of the Kreeft book before and will be reposting pieces as I encounter them in my reading. Also, of course, I'll be adding in some from Lukefahr.

Here's some of the first from Kreeft to get us started. I identify with this because it is when reading that God often speaks to me the loudest.

Reading the Bible should be a form of prayer. The Bible should be read in God's presence and as the unfolding of His mind. It is not just a book, but God's love letter to you. It is God's revelation, God's mind, operating through your mind and your reading, so your reading is your response to His mind and will. Reading it is aligning your mind and will with God's; therefore it is a fulfillment of the prayer "Thy will be done," which is the most basic and essential key to achieving our whole purpose on earth: holiness and happiness. I challenge every reader to give a good excuse (to God, not to me, or even just to yourself) for not putting aside fifteen minutes a day to use this fundamental aid to fulfilling the meaning of your life.

Both prayer and Bible reading are ways of listening to God. They should blend: our prayer should be biblical and our Bible reading prayerful.

In Catholic theology, the Bible is sacramental: it is a sign that is an occasion for grace. The Bible fits the two classic definitions of a sacrament: (1) a visible sign instituted by Christ to give grace and (2) a sign that effects what it signifies. However, unlike the seven sacraments, it does not work ex opere operato; it does not give grace by itself, but is dependent on our use of it. ...

Though it is not a sacrament, it has power. Its power comes from two wills, God's and ours. It is the Spirit's sword (Eph 6:17) that cuts our very being apart (Heb 4:12), though we must give it an opening by exposing our minds and hearts and wills to its cutting edge. When we do that, God's Kingdom comes to earth. For it first comes to that tiny but crucially important bit of earth that is your mind and will. Then it transforms your life, which your mind and will control. Then, through your life, your world.

You Can Understand the Bible by Peter Kreeft

SFFaudio's Podcast is Back ... with a story read by J.J. Campanella

As if it weren't enough that my favorite podcast featuring science fiction book talk is back, they are kicking back into gear with a story read by one of the my very favorite narrators.

Way to stage an impressive comeback guys!

WOOHOO!

Joshua: When the Sun Stood Still

Continuing my readings of Joshua (begun here), I was struck by the commentary upon the battle where, famously, "the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies" (Joshua 10:13).

I appreciate the explanations of using our very limited language and symbols to explain the divine. This can be a stumbling block for dialogue between literalists and scoffers, for one thing, to say nothing of the difficult it may provide for believers studying the word of God. Our priest is always at great pains to underline such circumstances, especially when dealing with the Old Testament.

However, of more interest and enlightenment to me were the thoughts upon "The Lord hearkened to the voice of a man" (Joshua 10:14). These made a connection that was eye opening. I share the entire commentary below.

This was one of the texts used in the famous debate about the relationship of sun to earth in the Galileo case. But as the basis of that whole argument lay a misunderstanding by theologians of the day as regards the nature of the sacred texts. St. Augustine and St. Thomas had already explained the salvific meaning of Holy Writ, a teaching which Leo XIII ws later to sum up in these words: "The sacred writers, or better said, 'the Spirit of God who spoke through them, did not seek to teach men those things (the knowledge of the nature of visible realities) that were of no consequence for their eternal salvation' (St. Augustine, De Gen, ad litt., 2, 9, 20); therefore, the sacred writers, while carrying out something much greater than an investigation of nature, sometimes describe objects and speak about them [...] as the language of the times demanded [...]. Since in ordinary discourse what is given to the sense is normally spoken of first, the sacred writer (as the Angelic Doctor has noted) 'addresses what appears to the senses' (Summa theologiae, I, q. 70, a.1, ad 3), that is, he takes account first of what God himself, in speaking to men, expressed in human terms in order to make himself understood by them" (Leo XIII, Providentissimus Deus, EB 121).

"The Lord hearkened to the voice of a man" (v. 14). What is really noteworthy is not so muchthe sun's standing still as the fact that God should vary his way of working to obey the words of a man. Meditating on this passage, St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori comments: "It comes as a surprise to hear that God obeyed Joshua when he ordered the sun to stand still on its circuit [...]. but it comes as a greater shock to see how with a few words from the priest God himself descends to the altars and to where ever he is called, putting himself in the priest's hands every time he is called upon to do so" (Notes for Preaching, 1, 1, 3).

Joshua 10:13-14
The Navarre Bible, Joshua - Kings

Animal Games

A duo of Boxers certainly makes things more interesting. We have many new games we play now. We call them ...

Where Are My Glasses?
Having worn glasses since 4th grade (and, truth to tell, having needed them long before that probably), I am nearsighted. I will, however, take them off for close work like knitting or reading in the evening. It was one such evening last weekend when I left them on the coffee table in the back room and went to talk to Tom for a while.

Returning, I saw they had vanished. Completely. Not another thing from the table had been disturbed, including the beginnings of a wool teddy bear which greatly interests Zoe every time she sees me knitting it.

We searched high. We searched low. It wasn't until we looked at the dog door and then at each other with wild surmise that a possibility outside the house presented itself to us. Yes, indeed. Tom searched the back yard with a flashlight and found my glasses, neatly folded, and nestled in the grass.

Oh, Zoe, that mischievous dog! The few light scratches on the lenses don't even bother me. Such is the value in never remembering to clean your glasses and thus becoming accustomed to ignoring imperfections.

What is That White Stuff in Your Mouth?
Returning from a walk one morning, I was greeted by Wash (now nearly 6 months old!) prancing up to me happily. Except. What was that white thing dangling from his mouth? Toilet paper. Hmmmm.

The toilet paper trail led me from my bedroom door to my side of the bathroom to the shower and, yes, right to the toilet paper roll. It was not unbroken but it was clear that Wash had enjoyed himself immensely with this thoughtful toy just at his level.

It was even more fun that his other new favorite game, "Why is the bathroom rug lying in the living room?"

What is That on the Floor? No, Really. What is That?
Now, very few things can compare to the time that I walked into our back room and saw that Calico, our hunting cat of the time, had deposited a headless squirrel under the rocking chair Tom was occupying. We established that I can scream loudly and Tom can jump many inches in the air from a sitting position.

This morning's session of the game was more mystifying than anything. Eventually I was able to identify part of a small spine attached to some fur and a nice long piece of intestine. The size led us to guess that a mouse met his maker at the same time that at least one of the dogs met their breakfast. I much appreciated being called in as the identifying expert rather than being the one who began the game. That was left to the unfortunate Tom who was innocently walking through the kitchen. He then went to make sure the dog food bowl was topped off.

Tradition and Revolution V

In the final part of this thought provoking essay, Merton discusses true contemplation, God's grace, and theology. Just when we think we can see where he is headed, he throws in a twist at the end which takes us right back to the Church. (Part I is here.)

Tradition and Revolution (cont'd.)

Yet true contemplation is not arrived at by an effort of the mind. On the contrary, a man could easily lose his way in the forest of technical details which concern a professional theologian. But God gives true theologians a hunger born of humility, which cannot be satisfied with formulas and arguments, and which looks for something closer to God than analogy can bring you.

This serene hunger of the spirit penetrates the surface of words and goes beyond the human formulation of mysteries and seeks, in the humiliation of silence, intellectual solitude and interior poverty, the gift of a supernatural apprehension which words cannot truly signify.

Beyond the labor of argument it finds rest in faith and beneath the noise of discourse it apprehends the Truth, not in distinct and clear-cut definitions but in the limpid obscurity of a single intuition that unites all dogmas in one simple Light, shining into the soul directly from God's eternity, without the medium of created concept, without the intervention of symbols or of language or the likenesses of material things.

Here the Truth is One Whom we not only know and possess but by Whom we are known and possessed. Here theology ceases to be a body of abstractions and becomes a Living Reality Who is God Himself. And He reveals Himself to us in our total gift of our lives to Him. Here the light of truth is not something that exists for our intellect but One in Whom and for Whom all minds and spirits exist, and theology does not truly begin to be theology until we have transcended the language and separate concepts of theologians.

That is why St. Thomas put the Summa Theologica aside in weariness before it was finished, saying that it was "all straw."

And yet when the contemplative returns from the depths of his simple experience of God and attempts to communicate it to men, he necessarily comes once again under the control of the theologian and his language is bound to strive after the clarity and distinctness and accuracy that canalize Catholic tradition.

Therefore beware of the contemplative who says that theology is all straw before he has ever bothered to read any.

New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton

Lord Valentine's Castle: A Wondrous Tale, Wonderfully Told

And then after walking all day through a golden haze of humid warmth that gathered about him like fine wet fleece, Valentine came to a great ridge of outcropping white stone overlooking the city of Pidruid. It was the provincial capital, sprawling and splendid, the biggest city he had come upon since-since?-the biggest in a long while of wandering, at any rate.

There he halted, finding a seat at the edge of the soft, crumbling white ridge, digging his booted feet into the flaking ragged stone, and he sat there staring down at Pidruid, blinking as though newly out of sleep. On this summer day twilight was still some hours away, and the sun hung high to the southwest beyond Pidruid, out over the Great Sea. I will rest here for a while, Valentine thought, and then I will go down into Pidruid and find lodging for the night.

As he rested he heard pebbles tumbling past him from a higher point on the ridge. Unhurriedly he looked back the way he had come. A young herdsman had appeared, a boy with straw-colored hair and a freckled face, leading a train of fifteen or twenty mounts down the hill road. They were fat sleek purple-skinned beasts, obviously well looked after. The boy’s own mount looked older and less plump, a wise and toughened creature.

“Hoy!” he called down to Valentine. “Where are you bound?”

“Pidruid. And you?”

“The same. Bringing these mounts to market. Thirsty work it is, too. Do you have wine?”

“Some,” Valentine said. He tapped the flask at his hip, where a fiercer man might wear a weapon. “Good red mid-country wine. I’ll be sorry to see the last of it.”

That's the beginning of this classic fantasy ... which I have reviewed for SFFaudio. Whether you choose to read or listen, it is not to be missed.

Have I Read "The Shack?"

Why yes, yes I have.

I don't know why I've been asked that so much lately but a lot of people I know must be just getting around to reading it.

In case anyone is interested in my book reviews, they are listed here. I try to keep the list fairly current.

The White Moll: a turn of the century adventure about a plucky heroine fighting crime in New York's seamy underbelly

I think that about says it all.

But if you'd like to read more, here is my review of the Librivox recording of The White Moll. Highly recommended for good, clean, exciting adventure. You can either read it or listen free. Just follow the links. Librivox has the link to the Gutenberg hard copy.

Prompting My First Letter to the WSJ Editor ...

... is this editorial about the Pope's encyclical that clearly doesn't understand a Christian mindset or even what it really means that the Pope is Catholic. He's intelligent enough not to have to worry about that though. Or so he thinks.

I haven't finished the encyclical as I'm reading slowly and marking as I go. Yes, that's how clueless he was. You don't even have to have read it.

Too bad the author didn't read Father Sirico's piece first, in the WSJ's own editorial section.

If the letter is used, I'll let y'all know. If not, I'll share it in full here.

Tradition and Revolution IV

Continuing his discussion of Catholic dogma, Merton now looks at it's true benefit to those who have the grace to explore it to the fullest. (Part I is here.)

Tradition and Revolution (cont'd.)

The first step to contemplation is faith; and faith begins with an assent to Christ teaching through His Church; fides ex auditu, qui vos ausit, me audit. "He that heareth you, heareth Me." And "faith cometh by hearing."

It is not the dry formula of a dogmatic definition by itself that pours light into the mind of a Catholic contemplative, but the assent to the content of that definition deepens and broadens into a vital, personal and incommunicable penetration of the supernatural truth which it expresses -- an understanding that is a gift of the Holy Ghost and which merges into the Wisdom of love, to possess Truth in its infinite Substance, God Himself.

The dogmas of the Catholic faith are not merely symbols or vague rationalizations which we accept as arbitrary points of stimulation around which good moral actions many form or develop -- still less is it true that any idea would serve just as well as those that have been defined, any old pious thought would foment this vague moral life in our souls. The dogmas defined and taught by the Church have a very precise, positive and definite meaning which those who have the grace to do so must explore and penetrate if they would live an integral spiritual life. For the understanding of dogma is the proximate and ordinary way to contemplation.

Everybody who can do so ought to acquire something of a theologians' accuracy and sharpness in appreciating a true sense of dogma. Every Christian ought to have as deep a comprehension of his belief as his state will allow him. And this means that every one ought to breathe the clean atmosphere of orthodox tradition and be able to explain his belief in correct terminology -- and terminology with a content of genuine ideas.

New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton

So I'm thinkin' we're looking at more catechesis, whether done through our reading, scripture studies as a group, seeking guidance of spiritual directors, or more along those lines. There are many ways to learn to appreciate and understand the Church's teachings. It is incumbent upon us to pursue them.

We will hear more about where faithful adherence to the Church's dogma takes us in contemplation in Part IV.

Tradition and Revolution III

Continuing the essay, Merton takes on the issue of dogma, both in what men think it to be and what it actually is. What he says was doubtless true when the book was written in 1961 but we see his insight even more from the distance of where relativism has moved us almost 50 years hence. (Part I is here.)

Tradition and Revolution (cont'd.)

The notion of dogma terrifies men who do not understand the Church. They cannot conceive that a religious doctrine may be clothed in a clear, definite and authoritative statement without at once becoming static, rigid and inert and losing all its vitality. In their frantic anxiety to escape from any such conception they take refuge in a system of beliefs that is vague and fluid, a system in which truths pass like mists and waver and vary like shadows. They make their own personal selection of ghosts, in this pale, indefinite twilight of the mind. They take good care never to bring these abstractions out into the full brightness of the sun for fear of a full view of their unsubstantiality.

They favor the Catholic mystics with a sort of sympathetic regard, for they believe that these rare men somehow reached the summit of contemplation in defiance of Catholic dogma. Their deep union with God is supposed to have been an escape from the teaching authority of the Church, and an implicit protest against it.

But the truth is that the saints arrived at the deepest and most vital and also the most individual and personal knowledge of God precisely because of the church's teaching authority, precisely through the tradition that it is guarded and fostered by that authority.

New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton

We will hear more about where faithful adherence to the Church's dogma takes us in contemplation in Part IV.

Congratulations to CNMC Award Winners!

I see that the Catholic New Media Awards are over and the winners have been announced.. Congratulations to the winners, especially Jen at Conversion Diary who is a favorite of mine and definitely deserved to win the Best Blog by a Woman category.

Interestingly, I see that we have many of the same sorts of results that would come up long ago in the lighter, more fun and interesting award days. One or two big personalities/current favorites win most of the categories, with a few breakaways pulling the award away in some categories.

So no matter whether fun or boring, the cult of personality wins ... but not always. So can we go back to having fun awards? Puhleez?

Update:
Also, I don't know what I was thinking to not thank very much those who nominated me and then voted, and also the group who puts on the awards. Though I may have quibbles with their methodology, I fully appreciate their hard work in putting on the awards. I don't want to seem ungrateful; my criticism is meant constructively.

What's a Catholic Blog Doing With a Horoscope in the Sidebar?

Yukking it up, mostly.

I appreciate the many people who care enough to take the time and trouble to write mentioning that belief in horoscopes is against Church teachings. However, I would appreciate it equally, indeed actually much more, if right before sending that email, those same people would actually read the day's horoscope and perhaps click through to the cited sources: The Onion (warning, site can have explicit content) or Dr. Boli.

They would then see that 'tis all in good fun. Not to mention making fun of horoscopes.

Just in case there are any doubts, here is a random sampling. If they don't make you laugh (or smile at the very least) then we do not share the same sense of humor:

• You'll soon discover three new planets, a dwarf star, and two orbiting satellites—an incredible achievement for someone just trying to peer in on his neighbor.
  
  
• A surprise party looms in your future. Although, technically speaking, the "surprise" has more to do with how few people will show up.
  
  
• You'll stop going with your gut and start listening to your heart, almost instantly ruining your career in public relations.
  
  
• The stars foresee a time of great vagueness and something or other in your future. Also, there will be a chair.
  
  
• Your science-fiction novel will be heralded as a "work of utmost urgency and importance" by critics in a mirror universe this week.
  
  
• A panel of twelve jurors will soon find you guilty of a crime you didn't commit very well.
  
  
• You will lose hours trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, moments after quickly and easily fitting a round peg into a square hole.
  
  
• The stars are sorry, but writing greeting-card messages does not make you a poet. Take comfort in the fact that, since this is America, you'll make the lists anyway.
  
  
• Lady Luck will be on your side this week. Unfortunately for you, Lady Skill, Lady Experience, and Lady Applied Probability Theory won't.
  
  
• The stars are becoming a little upset at your constant pestering about the future. Would it kill you to maybe loosen up a little and live for the moment?
  
  
• A double-inclined plane will—through the application of downward force—drive a wedge between you and your spouse this week.
  
  
• People say you have one of the biggest egos in the world, but what they probably mean is best—one of the best egos in the world.

The true purpose of this post is not to complain, but actually to have something to link to so that I may take the preemptive move of directing people to this explanation before they go to the trouble of writing.

Thank you for your concern!

UPDATE
I thought my post about why I have horoscopes in the sidebar was definitive. Let me say this more bluntly, as it clearly is not definitive for those whose minds are unable to take in more than one concept concerning a subject. I am not endorsing horoscopes. I am explaining why my horoscopes are amusing and a mockery of regular horoscopes. It is not an apologia for the occult as anyone with half a brain can see. Take your soap box elsewhere. Thank you.

Loving Christ and Loving the Church

I probably have had my In Conversation with God books for seven or eight years. Although each entry has three sections and is around 6 (small) pages you would think that I would have absorbed a good bit of it by now so that it is, if not predictable, at least devoid of surprises. Still, on Monday, this paragraph hit me as something brand new. Not that I didn't already understand the sentiment. Just that I hadn't thought of it from this point of view. So I'm sharing it.

Those people who claim to approach Christ whilst leaving his Church to one side, and even causing her harm, may one day get the same surprise as Saint Paul did when he was on his way to Damascus; I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. (Acts 9:5). And, the Venerable Bede reflects that He does not say "why are you persecuting my members, but why are you persecuting me?" For He is still affronted in his Body, which is the Church. Paul did not know until that moment that to persecute the Church was to persecute Jesus himself. when he speaks about the Church later on, he does so in words that describe her as the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27), or simply as Christ (1 Cor 1:13); and he describes the faithful as members of Christ's Body (Rom 12:5). It is not possible to love, follow or listen to Christ, without loving, following or listening to the Church, because she is the presence, at once sacramental and mysterious, of Our Lord, who prolongs his saving mission in the world to the very end of time.

In Conversation with God - Vol. 4 - Ordinary Time, Weeks 13-23