One Last Thing, On the Way Out the Door ...

Reading Carolina Cannonball's announcement that she will be dropping her "Papist only" consideration of men to date, all I could think was, well it's about time.

If my husband had only dated Catholics I might still be a single agnostic wondering "what's it all about" as I wandered looking for my soul mate. It took marriage to this good man and God's use of our children to bring me to knowledge of Him and then of His Bride, the Church.

For all any single Catholic knows, God's been waiting for you to open your eyes to the fact that your true love is just waiting for conversion in addition to meeting their soul mate. I would think this is true for anyone whose faith is strong, just as is Carolina Cannonball's.

Zoe Has Met the Anti-Christ and It Was in the Kitchen

We couldn't help but notice Zoe's bad habit of hopping up to put her front legs on the kitchen counter and look around for anything tasty. Of course, we've been discouraging her, but the trick has possibly been done for us this morning while we were still abed.

She came racing in past our bed, ears back, tail tucked, to hide in the back of Tom's side of the bathroom. Investigation showed that the bottom of the salad spinner which had been securely lodged atop the dish drainer was now on the floor. Oh yes ... bad dog!

I showed her the instrument of doom later in the morning only to have her back away, nervously saying, "Hey man, let's not do anything we can't take back. Just put the spinner down ... "

I like it when the household utensils stick up for proper behavior.

Going to Galveston

Hence the latest watery theme for the blog.

However, I'll be leaving a few tidbits to pop up for y'all during the week. A few quotes, a little art, some other good blogs you might not know about.

I'll be around some although my challenge to myself is to see how long I can unplug. Which might be a real challenge considering that I have a few book reviews I want to do as well as some writing I promised to someone else. I can hand write all this in a notebook but somehow it never flows the way that typing into a computer does. So we shall see ...

Culture Crash ... Picking Up the Pieces Requires Sacrifice

With the Beyond Cana marriage retreat coming up, naturally marriage is much on my mind. My marriage (thankfully always good, in fact now the best it has ever been), marriages in distress for which I pray, and our culture's problems with marriage in general.

It is therefore very timely that Heather at CraftLit (podcast)brought up this Atlantic Monthly article with a good deal of dismay and not a little bewilderment. Heather is not naive. She understands what makes a good marriage and what makes them fall apart. It is the author's irreverent attitude perhaps that is bewildering. Entitled "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," the subhead reads merrily, "The author is ending her marriage. Isn’t it time you did the same?"

It is the ultimate modern viewpoint. Shallow and selfish. The exact opposite of what a good, not to mention sacramental, marriage is all about.

DarwinCatholic makes many of the points that I have already thought of so I will let you read it there. If you don't want to read the entire article, and it is very long, then just go to Darwin's place. He points out the salient parts for you to read.

Luckily, we need not despair because that is not a view that everyone has in the modern world. Here is an excellent piece from the equally excellent Art of Manliness blog: DIY Marriage Counseling. Please do go read it. And, of course, here's a bit to whet your appetite.

As it turns out, this bootstrapping mentality is not such a bad idea. A recent study found that reading research-based articles together as a couple, and applying the advice from those articles to your relationship was just as effective as attending a workshop or seminar.1 If you’re having serious problems in your marriage, you may need to see a therapist, but if you’re marriage simply needs some tuning up, here are some diy basics to read over with your spouse and start applying to your relationship.

Banish the Four Horsemen of Divorce

Dr. John Gottman, Ph.D. has been studying marriages in a lab at the University of Washington for 20 years. While many people think that what makes a happy or unhappy marriage is somewhat mysterious and divorce is hard to predict, he can watch a couple interact for only a few hours and then forecast with 91% accuracy whether or not they’ll end up divorcing. He’s not a fortune teller; he simply looks for telltale signs in the way the couple interacts and handles their disagreements. Those that display what he calls the “four horseman of the apocalypse” have a high likelihood for divorce. If a couple can identify and rectify these behaviors, the marriage can often be saved. So let’s take a look at what the four horsemen are.

Three More Chapters of Uncle Tom's Cabin ...

... for those UTC addicts out there, and they do exist, here is a long 'un with three chapters for you. In which we say goodbye to Eva ... wait, just let me get my hanky out ... ok, let's go ...

By the way, we've got a couple of spots open in our Beyond Cana marriage enrichment retreat

It was full but as there have been a few who can't make it, as always happens when a couple is trying to arrange a weekend away from home.

If you're interested, the details are here (ignore the "full" notice ... we haven't had a chance to change it yet). This close to the retreat, it is open to nonparishioners as everyone from St. Thomas has had several months to sign up. Tom and I can testify that it has been a wonderful help to our marriage, which was already good to begin with.

Joshua: Staying Faithful to God

Continuing my reading of Joshua (begun here). I like the fact that Joshua has had the same choices in essence that we do still in our modern lives. Listen to God, do what He wants, and live ... or serve other gods and die. Some like Joshua perform spectacular feats while others of us live more anonymously, but it all boils down to that same choice made repeatedly.

... What Joshua has to say is very moving and it contains a message which is virtually the same as the one God gave him when Moses died (cf. 1:1-19)--an invitation to trust in the Lord and do everything his Law lays down. Promises and threats criss-cross in Joshua's insistence that the people must stay faithful to God if they are to retain the land he has given them. It is a very urgent exhortation--for those who heard it, and for Israelites at later times, particularly during the difficult test of the exile.

Joshua's own life was guided by that message. To start with, God gave him his instructions. Then as events unfolded Joshua could see for himself that what God said was indeed true: the Lord scattered enemies in his presence; he gave the people the promised land, and did everything he said he would. Joshua saw for himself that God gave success to those who did his bidding, and this made him keener still to be faithful to the Lord. ...

In the fullest way possible something similar happened with Jesus, whose life was a continuous striving to identify with his Father's will; from his infancy (cf. Lk 2:49) to the cross, what nourished him was doing the will of the One who sent him: "Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done" (Lk 22:42). And thus we see St. Paul placing Christ's example before all Christians: "Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, [...] humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him" (Phil 2:5-6, 8-9). That is also the route that Christ's followers should take--listening to his word and going along with the plans he has for each. Assimilating and putting this message into practice makes life meaningful. And one experiences the effectiveness of God's help, the more one bears witness of it to others.

Joshua 23:1-16
The Navarre Bible, Joshua - Kings

This finishes my journey through Joshua though I'll be beginning 2nd Peter soon and will share what I find there with y'all.

I never would have thought of this but the Senator makes an excellent point

We now record fetal heartbeats at 14 days post-conception. We record fetal brainwaves at 39 days post-conception. And I don’t expect you to answer this, but I do expect you to pay attention to it as you contemplate these big issues. We have this schizophrenic rule of the law where we have defined death as the absence of those, but we refuse to define life as the presence of those.

Sen.Tom Coburn,
speaking to Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor,
confirmation hearing, July 15, 2009

Via The Anchoress.

Literary Monster Mash-ups

Though I don't find myself drawn to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies which began this trend or the above pictured combo, these upcoming titles do make me laugh.

Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter – subtitled She Loved Her Country; She Hated Demons - and I am Scrooge: A Zombie Story for Christmas. "Marley was dead. Again," says its publisher Orion. "Will the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future be able to stop the world from drowning under a top-hatted and crinolined zombie horde?"

Who better to have alerted us to this trend than The Daily Kraken who doubtless is delighted at seeing his fellow monsters get their day in the sun.

Update:
Nick kindly came by to point out the trailer ... which I absconded with after laughing my head off.

Stir-Fried Spinach

Take a forkful over at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

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.