Resource: Catechism Class is Like Spark Notes for Catholic Books

Y'all know that I'm all about book reviews. But there is another way to evaluate a great many Catholic books.

We realize that the vast majority of Catholics want to read classic and contemporary Catholic books but due to time constraints, they are able to actually only read a small number of them. We have responded to this need by summarizing (not reviewing so that customers get the author's views and not our opinions) many great Catholic books.

Catechism Class has a really extensive list of books that they've done thorough reviews for. And when I say thorough, I ain't just a whistlin' Dixie.

I was stunned at how thorough the samples were. Not only an overall summary, but also a summary for every chapter. This is truly the way to quickly get the sense of a book that you need to evaluate before purchasing or cover for some reason but don't have time to read.

Cathechism Class describes their summaries here and has a list of books covered here. As a bonus, I asked them to provide a sample pdf of a representative book so that you could see for yourselves how thorough these are. They generously came forth with Scott Hahn's Hail Holy Queen.

Give it a try and check out their site.

Americans are Alright

Getting ready to visit home (America) after a living in Asia for a long time and seeing American businessmen at their worst, the EatingAsia folks asked themselves, "Ugh, Americans. Are we really that obnoxious?

What they found on their whirlwind trip to the U.S. was that we're alright.

I know, I know -- there's the vitriolic backdrop, especially now that we're heavy into a presidential election cycle. It's everywhere, and hard to ignore. But day to day we Americans are generally pretty nice folks. We smile, we say "hi", we hold doors open for each other and yes, we queue ("line up" in Americanese). We are welcoming. We help strangers. We offer sympathy and aid to people in trouble even if we don't know them. We're curious about others and we chit-chat, exchange pleasantries and make small talk with just about anyone.

And that's not all. Yes, we've got our problems as any people do, but it's nice to read something so positive for a change.

Go read the whole thing at EatingAsia and soak up the gorgeous photos.

Joan of Arc Series on History According to Bob Podcast

The Joan of Arc series has just begun but Bob doesn't keep his episodes up for more than a few weeks.  Although in looking through the archive I see he has a few months worth of episodes. He sells CDs of his series later so he takes episodes down fairly soon.

If you think you might be interested, grab these now. In the past, I have found Bob to be very fair and even-handed, giving careful consideration to all points of view and usually choosing the most reasonable.

Pick up episode at the History According to Bob archives or via iTunes. The first episode is an overview, posted on April 11 and there has been one other episode since then.

If you look through the existing archive, Bob also has part of a series about the crusades and the Teutonic Knights and such matters so you may want to try those also.

Word of the Week:

Ever since I read about the Dictionary of American Regional English, I've been itching to get my hands on a volume. There are six volumes, with the last finally being published after decades of work being done. Loving words the way we do around here it is hard to imagine a more wonderful book for browsing than one featuring all sorts of obscure regionalisms.

Here's the DARE website where you can find out more and from which I'll be pulling a word now and then for our edification and entertainment.

Let's begin with DARE's word of the month:

Rusticator

A vacationer, esp a summer boarder.

Where does it come from? How do you use it? What examples from the past can you see? DARE has it all for you. Go and enjoy!

UPDATE
Tim Canny mentions something that I meant to tell you. You can follow them on Twitter (twitter via @darewords) and get words much more frequently. Thanks Tim!

Web could vanish for hordes of people in July, FBI warns

If your computer is infected with the DNSChanger virus, your summertime Internet activities will be seriously curtailed -- as in buh-bye. But a special Web site can help you fix the problem.

This looks like one of those spam scares that I often debunk using Snopes.com.

However, Tom was telling me all about it yesterday morning. This is a real thing.

Here's an article he recommends.

Weekend Joke: So a guy goes to a psychiatrist ...

Via Data's Jokes.

A guy goes to a psychiatrist. "Doc, I keep having these alternating recurring dreams. First I'm a teepee; then I'm a wigwam; then I'm a teepee; then I'm a wigwam. It's driving me crazy. What's wrong with me?"

The doctor replies: "It's very simple. You're two tents."

1st Corinthians and the LCWR: Mourning and a Wake Up Call to Repentance

A few thoughts, not necessarily strung together in the best way, but I wanted to get these out there for consideration before my day got away from me.

Frankly, the Vatican's document and reprimand to the LCWR was not really on my radar. Like many Catholics I vaguely knew there were some orders of religious who liked to style themselves "progressive" and skirt Vatican teachings when it didn't suit their ideas of service. In this, I am thinking more of a particular priest I know from another city. He'll never know how much he shocked me (as a fairly new Catholic) when he confided, with a twinkle in his eye about breaking some rules which he didn't think were all that important because he was the best judge of such things. That moment and his attitude always came to mind when I'd hear reports of orders flouting Church teachings. So I may, perhaps, have gotten it wrong a few times when thinking that such flouting was deliberate rather than sheer ignorance. Honestly, I'm not sure which is worse when considering a whole order's behavior. But that is a matter for further pondering, especially with concern to my own life. Where do I leave myself (or those around me) ignorant and where do I ignore what I should obey?

Reading 1st Corinthians this morning was especially enlightening as Paul is dealing with a scandalous situation being tolerated in the church. Chapter 5: 1-5 from the NAB:

It is widely reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of a kind not found even among pagans—a man living with his father’s wife. And you are inflated with pride. Should you not rather have been sorrowful? The one who did this deed should be expelled from your midst. I, for my part, although absent in body but present in spirit, have already, as if present, pronounced judgment on the one who has committed this deed,b in the name of [our] Lord Jesus: when you have gathered together and I am with you in spirit with the power of the Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.

Careful reading and the accompanying commentary makes two things very clear. First, the community is so "puffed up" (literal translation of "inflated") that they not only tolerate the immoral situation but either consider themselves spiritually advanced or they think it doesn't affect them as a community. The community should have been sorrowful or, as other translations say, have been "in mourning."

This says something to me about those orders, true, but it says more to me about those who are triumphant about the reprimand. People have been angry about such laxity but have we been mournful for these, our sisters, who have gone astray? Have we felt sorrowful for the probable outcome to them? Whether as a reprimand or for the ill being done in their lax attitudes, should we not have cared as much as we would for a dear friend or family member? Have we prayed or offered up fasting or some similar sacrifice to God on their behalf, as I myself have done for a beloved atheist family member?

Where is our sense of unity? Where is our response to the great commandment of love that Christ gave us?

You notice I include myself. I can say these things because I am guilty. Paul is talking directly to me on this.

Second, the immoral man is excommunicated from the community by Paul. Note that this is not intended to be permanent but it is "a therapy of privation that hopefully will wake the man up and lead him to repentance and readmission to the community" (from the commentary).

Sometimes we need a spiritual awakening administered through severe action because it is only then that we pay attention. We've all experienced this from time to time. It is when we ignore the increasingly strong reprimands that it becomes necessary to take drastic measures to get our attention. I'm thinking here of the prodigal son.

In 1st Corinthians it is both to save the man and safeguard the community from the bad example that the action is taken.

It seems shocking from the outside but in the end could save them all.

From personal experience, I'd say that a good many problems of the sort we see in the Corinthian community and in this situation come from insularity. We don't go outside our comfortable bubbles enough to get another perspective.

In this case, I would like to offer the LCWR a modern example of someone they could emulate. Not a long-ago saint or far away person from the "other side" but someone who feels their pain and yet will take the hard steps to offer that pain to God and ask for enlightenment and growth.

Joanne McPortland blogs with her whole heart at egregious twaddle. I like her even though she often is approaching Catholic things from the opposite viewpoint than I am. I like her because she is honest, because she is trying, because she is sticking with her recent return to the Catholic church and struggling with the things that don't seem to make sense. But offering herself to God so that she may understand.

As a former agnostic, child of atheists, even more a child of our modern society, I too have had similar struggles that hurt me to the very bone.

Her response the the Vatican reprimand of the LCWR was angry. An honest anger that stormed questions at God on behalf of people she loved. Go read An Uppity Woman Prays for Answers. I believe that God doesn't mind those angry shouts because, like Job's, they are honest and heart-felt. Though they may be filled with pain, they are turning to Him. It is a trust that there is an answer. It is a personal response in a personal relationship with Him.

Joanne helped me see the other side and reminded me of a place I love that can sometimes be outside my own comfort bubble, which is my Catholic women's book club. I absolutely love every woman who comes to it.

And yet. And yet we are a very diverse group. We do our best to stay from controversial topics and yet we can't sometimes. I sometimes mourn for some of my sisters from that group and I always pray that we may all know truth. And they keep me centered. They help me see the heart of those I don't agree with sometimes. Am I right when I disagree with them? I think so, obviously. However, we keep each other close to the middle of the road marker, where we may reach over and hold hands, understanding each other's hearts. Sometimes, we will even step across and be together on either side. And that's the right way to be, after all. Because that's where the Church is. Not on the fringes, but in the middle. But, again, that concept provides enough pondering for another day, so we will move on.

Joanne does that for me. As did that post.

The next day, Joanne wrote Fleeing Babylon: The Old Order(s) Changeth. She'd had time to think, to pray, to listen for answers, to hear what kind friends were not saying (out of kindness) and to know it for a hint of the truth. She has been able to gain clarity and relinquish her anger. She remains sad but also joyful.

This was heartening and also a wonderful look at the spiritual wrestling we must all do with the messengers of God. Like Jacob, we may be left wounded. It may be a wound that, like his, we carry our whole lives. But it changes us.

I so appreciate Joanne sharing her personal struggle because of her honesty and commitment to truth.

It helps me to remember that unity, helps me begin to truly mourn and pray for these sisters of Christ, and to examine myself for blind spots and pride.

I hope and pray that the sisters of the LCWR may go through the same process as we all limp, joyfully (!), toward God together.

NPR Reporter Understands the Church Better Than the Nun They Are Interviewing

Just heard from Hannah, our roving reporter in the DFW Metroplex, who is making the arborist rounds of the Dallas areas. She listens to NPR a lot while driving and called to tell me that she was livid after listening to a particularly unhelpful interview with Sister Simone Campbell.

The reporter was attempting to get her to talk realistically about the Vatican finding that the Leadership Conference of Women Religious had serious doctrinal problems. Here's NPR's blurb and the link if you want to listen (or read) for yourself.

The Vatican has reprimanded the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, saying the group has "serious doctrinal problems." The Vatican assigned an archbishop to reform the conference. The group has taken controversial stances on issues including health care and gender matters. Melissa Block speaks with Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of NETWORK, a national Catholic social justice lobbying group which works closely with the LCWR.

Unfortunately, Sister Simone unhelpfully kept saying that the report simply meant the women in the Church needed to educate the men in the Church on how things work in the real world. Hearing Hannah tell me all this made me happy that I have a discerning daughter who loves her faith and quite sorry for Sister Simone. She is either being disingenuous or really believes what she is saying. And it is to weep. Obedience and charity are integral to us all as Catholics and especially for a religious sister.

We all find ourselves at odd with the Catholic Church sometime or another, sometimes over very big issues. But we are all called to practice obedience, charity, forgiveness, and following Christ's example while we do so. I pray for Sister Simone and those like her who may be smarting, frustrated, and upset by the report.

Hannah gave full props to the reporter who, she said, kept trying to bring Sister Simone back to the real questions and seemed fairly well educated about the issues.

Hannah also wanted me to let any NPR listeners know that Sister Simone was not someone they wanted to trust for their Catholic opinion making.

Job done!

As is so often the case, I turned to GetReligion for their take on the story and the media coverage which looks as if it were quite good actually. I definitely recommend you go there and read it and the linked stories if you want the full picture. Mollie read the 8-page Vatican document and points out that it praises as well as reprimands.

In fact, on the first page alone is this line, “The Holy See acknowledges with gratitude the great contribution of women Religious to the Church in the United States as seen particularly in the many schools, hospitals, and institutions of support for the poor which have been founded and staffed by Religious over the years.”

As I mentioned, she looks at reporting across all media, including bloggers like Whispers in the Loggia (Rocco's always on top of these sorts of stories). I hadn't had a chance to even look at my RSS reader today so was glad Hannah prompted me to look into the story more.

Be sure to read the GetReligion story if you are at all interested in this story.

Flannery O'Connor at A Good Story is Hard to Find Podcast

Julie talks Scott's leg off, but since it isn't wooden he gets to keep it? Confused? So are we, but we bravely discuss three of Flannery O'Connor's stories: A Good Man is Hard to Find, The River, and Good Country People.

And find out what happens when we leave the recorder running for another five minutes after signing off.

Come and listen at A Good Story is Hard to Find.

Joe Ledger's Back in Town and This Time He's Got Ninjas! (New on the shelf.)

Assassin's Code by Jonathan Maberry

I'm sorry Doctor Esterhazy. It isn't that I find you boring, though you are a bit more difficult to follow on audio than ordinary books, but it's just that Joe is back in town. And ... well ... gotta put you down and go get me some Joe!

When Joe Ledger and Echo Team rescue a group of American college kids held hostage in Iran,the Iranian government then asks them to help find six nuclear bombs planted in the Mideast oil fields. These stolen WMDs will lead Joe and Echo Team into hidden vaults of forbidden knowledge, mass-murder, betrayal, and a brotherhood of genetically-engineered killers with a thirst for blood. Accompanied by the beautiful assassin called Violin, Joe follows a series of clues to find the Book of Shadows, which contains a horrifying truth that threatens to shatter his entire worldview.

Although, a beautiful assassin named (really? seriously?) Violin had better have a darned good story behind the name or I'll never be able to stop laughing.

And it wouldn't be a Joe Ledger book without genetic engineering rearing its ugly head somewhere nearby.

But on the other hand ... ninjas!

Reviewing "The Gospel of Mark: Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture" by Mary Healy

Gospel of Mark, The by Mary Healy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a really great commentary. Healy combines a lot of the information that I have in a variety of other commentaries (both Catholic and Protestant), but then pulls it all together with additional observations that make it very accessible while still being scholarly. She follows up many sections with items for reflection. Her style is very easy to read and you never feel as if she's talking over your head.

The structure is such that you are generally covering just a little scripture at a time. Each reading is followed with cross references to the Old Testament, New Testament, Catechism, and Liturgy. These are followed by the commentary, in which words from the scripture reading are bold whenever they are used. Although I saw some people complaining about that practice, I found it useful. Sometimes a bold word would make me suddenly pay attention and go back to the scripture, thinking, "Did it really say that? Why haven't I ever noticed before?"

There are also a few maps, occasional photos when they'd be helpful, and sidebar boxes with Biblical background and living tradition (Catechism, Fathers of the Church, saints) information that enriches understanding. The boxes can be difficult to read because they are a medium gray text on a light gray box which doesn't provide much contrast. (Later editions seem to have fixed this problem as 1 Corinthians has a much darker text in the boxes.)

Healy is excellent at putting the scripture in context, whether in reference to the context of people of the time, to other scripture, or for our own lives. Sometimes I was enlightened by the factual information which gives me new insights into the text. Sometimes it is from the material for reflection. However, it is a rare day that I failed coming away with an insight that I pondered the rest of the day. In fact, it set me thinking so much that I revived my Mark Bible study for this blog so that I could share some of these insights with others. It is in the early parts of Mark at this point, but check that out for a few short excerpts that you can use to see why you should read the entire book.

Highest recommendation.

You can see more about the series at their website and ... I bought this with my own money and will be buying more. Yes, that's how much I liked this book.

Speaking of "Awake" ...

I completely approve of the penguin. Not enough of them on TV these days, especially helping solve crimes. And have I said that I feel sorry for anyone stuck in "blue filter" universe? They are always going to look sickly and tired.

And, did anyone else groove the way I did when Michael, held hostage in the mental ward, reassured crazy Gabe that his sister was free? Free to be happy, not held captive anymore, and so forth (I can't find the quote for this speech.)In other words, no grave can hold her.

Anyone paying attention to Easter that week could immediately see a parallel, which the blue-filter therapist points out by saying rather disparagingly that the world's major religions came up with eternal life for much the same reason (to fool themselves, she means. I say "Boo!"). But Gabe's relief and happiness for his sister are perfectly appropriate for any Christian who really "gets it."

Of course this was that That's Not My Penguin episode.

My Life in the Buffy-Verse: 3.11

My life in the Buffy-verse (by request) - season 3. Got this far and then had to stop to catch up on Awake. "Gingerbread" -- After two children are mysteriously killed, apparently as part of a cult sacrifice, Joyce (Kristine Sutherland) leads the town in a witch hunt - but all is not quite as it seems." As if we didn't know those kids were not what they seemed. Right.

Though I never really trusted Buffy's mother to handle the whole Hell-mouth thing well. And we can see that she doesn't really, deep down.

Catholic Church's "social magisterium" informed House GOP budget

About time.

Although never in a thousand years did I think I'd be glancing through Daniel Henninger's piece about  President Obama's war of "rhetorical destruction" (what the heck did he say now? something worse than that comment to the Supreme Court?) and then suddenly see:

In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, he [Paul Ryan] said that in fact the Catholic Church's "social magisterium" had informed his House budget. One goal of that teaching, he said, is to prevent the poor from staying poor. Nor, he added, should individuals become lifelong dependents of their government.

Now that's a little bit of info that made me sit up straight and cough on my coffee this morning. I suddenly started reading every word.

What Mr. Ryan actually said is worth quoting, because it should revive the debate over the proper relationship between individual citizens, including the poor, and the national government:

"A person's faith is central to how they conduct themselves in public and in private. So to me, using my Catholic faith, we call it the social magisterium, which is how do you apply the doctrine of your teaching into your everyday life as a lay person?

"To me, the principle of subsidiarity . . . meaning government closest to the people governs best . . . where we, through our civic organizations, through our churches, through our charities, through all of our different groups where we interact with people as a community, that's how we advance the common good. By not having big government crowd out civic society, but by having enough space in our communities so that we can interact with each other, and take care of people who are down and out in our communities.

"Those principles are very, very important, and the preferential option for the poor, which is one of the primary tenets of Catholic social teaching, means don't keep people poor, don't make people dependent on government so that they stay stuck at their station in life. Help people get out of poverty out onto a life of independence."

Subsidiarity—an awful but important word—attempts to discover where the limits lie in the demands a state can make on its people. Identifying that limit was at the center of the Supreme Court's mandate arguments.

The first major use of subsidiarity as a basis for public policy was in Pope Leo XIII's famous 1891 encyclical "Rerum Novarum" (though the word itself doesn't appear). Leo was seeking a way to protect the dignity of human beings caught during those years in the tension between unfettered capitalism and unfettered government. "The State," he wrote, "must not absorb the individual or the family." Arguments over where the balance sits have raged since.

What kind of a crazy, mixed-up world is it when "Pope Leo XIII" and "Rerum Novarum" pops up in the editorial columns of the Wall Street Journal?

A really glorious world, I'd say.

Read it all.

Bishops propose: "fortnight for freedom"—a great hymn of prayer for our country

The Catholic bishops Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty have an impressive document posted, Our First, Most Cherished Liberty: A Statement on Religious Liberty. You may read it at the USCCB site or they have a pdf you can print out.

I have only glanced through it but was really struck by the numerous, bullet-pointed concrete examples of religious liberty under attack. I had no idea there were so many. I am intrigued to read the details and other information in it. (I've got a pdf print-out to read this evening at home.)

I also was very struck by their proposal for two weeks of prayer, to begin with the vigil for some of the best known and loved martyrs for religious liberty (St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More) and ending with Independence Day. If there is one thing I love about the Catholic Church (and we all know there is more than one thing) it is the way they do symbolism with style.

This year, we propose a special "fortnight for freedom," in which bishops in their own dioceses might arrange special events to highlight the importance of defending our first freedom. Our Catholic institutions also could be encouraged to do the same, especially in cooperation with other Christians, Jews, people of other faiths, and indeed, all who wish to defend our most cherished freedom.

We suggest that the fourteen days from June 21—the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More—to July 4, Independence Day, be dedicated to this "fortnight for freedom"—a great hymn of prayer for our country. Our liturgical calendar celebrates a series of great martyrs who remained faithful in the face of persecution by political power—St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More, St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter and Paul, and the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome. Culminating on Independence Day, this special period of prayer, study, catechesis, and public action would emphasize both our Christian and American heritage of liberty. Dioceses and parishes around the country could choose a date in that period for special events that would constitute a great national campaign of teaching and witness for religious liberty.

In addition to this summer's observance, we also urge that the Solemnity of Christ the King—a feast born out of resistance to totalitarian incursions against religious liberty—be a day specifically employed by bishops and priests to preach about religious liberty, both here and abroad.

To all our fellow Catholics, we urge an intensification of your prayers and fasting for a new birth of freedom in our beloved country. We invite you to join us in an urgent prayer for religious liberty.

Almighty God, Father of all nations,
For freedom you have set us free in Christ Jesus (Gal 5:1).
We praise and bless you for the gift of religious liberty,
the foundation of human rights, justice, and the common good.
Grant to our leaders the wisdom to protect and promote our liberties;
By your grace may we have the courage to defend them, for ourselves and for all those who live in this blessed land.
We ask this through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, our patroness,
and in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
with whom you live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Go read it all and share it with your friends. (Via New Advent).

All Hell is Breaking Loose. With Hilarious Results.

In the beginning
-------------------

It was a nice day.

All the days had been nice. There had been rather more than seven of them so far, and rain hadn't been invented yet. But clouds massing east of Eden suggested that the first thunderstorm was on its way, and it was going to be a big one.

The angel of the Eastern Gate put his wings over his head to shield himself from the first drops.

"I'm sorry," he said politely. "What was it you were saying?"

"I said, that one went down like a lead balloon," said the serpent.

"Oh. Yes," said the angel, whose name was Aziraphale.

"I think it was a bit of an overreaction, to be honest," said the serpent. "I mean, first offense and everything. I can't see what's so bad about knowing the difference between good and evil, anyway."

"It must be bad," reasoned Aziraphale, in the slightly concerned tones of one who can't see it either, and is worrying about it, "otherwise you wouldn't have been involved."

"They just said, Get up there and make some trouble," said the serpent, whose name was Crawly, although he was thinking of changing it now. Crawly, he'd decided, was not hint.

"Yes, but you're a demon. I'm not sure if it's actually possible for you to do good," said Aziraphale.

"It's down to your basic, you know, nature. Nothing personal, you understand."

"You've got to admit it's a bit of a pantomime, though," said Crawly. "I mean, pointing out the Tree and saying 'Don't Touch' in big letters. Not very subtle, is it? I mean, why not put it on top of a high mountain or a long way off? Makes you wonder what He's really planning."

"Best not to speculate, really," said Aziraphale. "You can't second-guess ineffability, I always say. There's Right, and there's Wrong. If you do Wrong when you're told to do Right, you deserve to be punished. Er."

They sat in embarrassed silence, watching the raindrops bruise the first flowers.

Eventually Crawly said, "Didn't you have a flaming sword?"

"Er," said the angel. A guilty expression passed across his face, and then came back and camped there.

"You did, didn't you?" said Crawly. "It flamed like anything."

"Er, well-"

"It looked very impressive, I thought."

"Yes, but, well-"

"Lost it, have you?"

"Oh no! No, not exactly lost, more-"

"Well?"

Aziraphale looked wretched. "If you must know," he said, a trifle testily, "I gave it away."

Crawly stared up at him.

"Well, I had to," said the angel, rubbing his hands distractedly. "They looked so cold, poor things, and she's expecting already, and what with the vicious animals out there and the storm coming up I thought, well, where's the harm, so I just said, look, if you come back there's going to be an almighty row, but you might be needing this sword, so here it is, don't bother to thank me, just do everyone a big favor and don't let the sun go down on you here."

He gave Crawly a worried grin.

"That was the best course, wasn't it?"

"I'm not sure it's actually possible for you to do evil," said Crawly sarcastically. Aziraphale didn't notice the tone.

"Oh, I do hope so," he said. "I really do hope so. It's been worrying me all afternoon."

They watched the rain for a while.

"Funny thing is," said Crawly, "I keep wondering whether the apple thing wasn't the right thing to do, as well. A demon can get into real trouble, doing the right thing." He nudged the angel. "Funny if we both got it wrong, eh? Funny if I did the good thing and you did the bad one, eh?"

"Not really," said Aziraphale.

Crawly looked at the rain.

"No," he said, sobering up. "I suppose not."

Slate-black curtains tumbled over Eden. Thunder growled among the hills. The animals, freshly named, cowered from the storm.

Far away, in the dripping woods, something bright and fiery flickered among the trees.

It was going to be a dark and stormy night.

Good Omens is the book that put The Apocalypse back on the map for our popular cultural imagination. It is fairly ubiquitous now (650 reviews on Amazon can't be wrong) but there's always the off chance that people haven't tried it yet. I can't believe I've never reviewed it, but here's no time like the present so let's get to it.

Fast-paced, witty, and slightly sadistic, Good Omens was written in 1990 by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett at a golden time when both had nothing else going on. One tries to imagine a time like that at any other point in their very busy careers and ... no, you can't do it. Both authors are prolific, clever, and have a way with twisting fantasy that appeals to the book reading public. Gaiman is darker and Pratchett is punnier, but both clearly worked well together and this book is a true classic.

But what's it about, I hear some asking.

Aziraphale and Crowley (who did wind up changing his name after all) have been hanging around Earth since the beginning and the constant association over 6000 years has turned them almost into friends. When Crowley receives the infant Antichrist with instructions to watch over him, they agree that they prefer living on Earth to what they'd find after the apocalypse. The two enter into a pact to keep the Antichrist perfectly balanced between good and evil. Which might work. If someone hadn't misplaced the Antichrist so that Crowley and Aziraphale have been working on the wrong child. Meanwhile, 11 years later it is hard to imagine anyone more human than the Antichrist, who has been living in a normal home in the countryside. It's up to plain old human nature and free will to see whether the apocalypse will begin.

Similar in style to Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the story turns on one ludicrous misunderstanding after another. It is those misunderstandings that make us laugh and also are the points upon which satire is presented to skewer the religious and unbelievers alike. Gaiman and Pratchett are like a modern-day Jonathan Swift and Mark Twain and we are the better for it. Certainly we have been laughing more because of their book, while at the same time we've been made to think a bit about what we believe, how we live our faith, and why it matters.

Crowley had got a commendation for the Spanish Inquisition. He had been in Spain then, mainly hanging around cantinas in the nicer parts, and hadn't even known about it until the commendation arrived. He'd gone to have a look, and had come back and got drunk for a week...

And just when you'd think they were more malignant than Hell could ever be, they could occasionally show more grace than Heaven ever dreamed of. Often the same individual was involved. It was this free-will thing, of course. It was a bugger.

Hugo Nomination Finalists Have Been Announced

SF Signal has the listing with the free fiction links so you can snap up as many as possible and read them.

Congratulations also to SF Signal, a particular favorite of mine, for their two Hugo nominations. Well done and well deserved!

Easter Reflections

Two things resonated and keep floating back into my mind.

During Saturday morning's practice of RCIA candidates (and catechumen) and sponsors, our priest did a spectacular job of explaining why everything was happening. More than that, and this was what made it spectacular, he continually reminded us of how we should think about our place in salvation history. He continually reminded us that our internal disposition was what would make the difference between those who say about mass "it's just the same thing over and over" and those who continually come away with some new insight or encounter with the risen Christ. It amounted to a wonderfully deep overview of the mass and the difference it makes.

During this overview he said something like, "I say the prayers out loud up here because that's my job. But Christ is praying them for you while I am praying them aloud."

That jolted me. I knew that Christ prays for us but had forgotten it. Now, with it called to the front of my mind, I treasured that idea. Christ prays for us. We matter that much to him. What a gift.

The other thing that struck me came that evening, when the church was dark and the Easter candle was lit. We saw the Easter candle light the little candles of the first candidates and catechumens who stood in the center aisle of the church. They in turn passed the light down the aisle and stood serenely, waiting.

We waited for the next "Lumen Christi" so we could respond "Deo gratias."

("Light of Christ. Thanks be to God.")

It was pitch black except for those tiny candles and I was really struck by how much they illuminated. We could see each person's face and the gentle glow bathing their shoulders and a bit of the night around them. The absolute truth of the symbolism was unmistakable. The darkness of the world except where Christ's light shines. The darkness of our souls except where that light blazes in our hearts. The fact that light is a thing which is never lessened when divided. When we share Christ's light it multiplies. And illuminates. And pushes back the dark.

"Lumen Christi." "Deo gratias."

The light was passed from one to another. I, in my turn, passed it on.

Perhaps it seems a cliche when reading it here. But the reality of smelling the wax burning, the wisps of smoke rising, seeing the light spreading was vivid in a way that burned itself into my mind and soul. As Christ has.

Lumen Christi. Deo gratias.

Three Easy Pieces: Recently Read

Prove It! God by Amy Welborn

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was recommended to me when I was asking for good books that might help questioning atheists. It is aimed at a young audience (meaning teenage, I assume, from the way it was written). Although I found the arguments didn't change in substance from those I already am familiar with, they were substantially easier to understand in some cases. Welborn does a good job of breaking down the logic and showing where questioners' assumptions may be based on faulty premises. Overall a good resource even for adults, if they are willing to overlook the spots where it is specifically using language to make teens comfortable with it.

Vanished by Joseph Finder

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Where did I first hear of this? I'd have thought Brandywine Books which keeps my mystery/thriller "to read" list filled. But I don't see it there in my extremely casual search. Perhaps it was via The Curt Jester.

Wherever I found it, this book is a really enjoyable, fast-paced thriller. Here's some of the description.

Nick Heller is tough, smart, and stubborn. And in his line of work, it's essential. Trained in the Special Forces, Nick is a high-powered intelligence investigator--exposing secrets that powerful people would rather keep hidden. He's a guy you don't want to mess with. He's also the man you call when you need a problem fixed.

Desperate, with nowhere else to run, Nick's nephew, Gabe makes that call one night. After being attacked in Georgetown, his mother, Lauren, lies in a coma, and his step-dad, Roger, Nick's brother, has vanished without a trace.

I particularly enjoyed the dichotomy of how Nick loves his brother deep down and struggles with whether to trust what appears to be unfolding as he investigates. But without whiny angst one sometimes finds in these books (yes, even from big, strong men). I myself not having Nick's childhood traumas to hold me back rarely trusted anyone in the book (aside from Nick, Gabe and Dorothy) to be who they said they were. Which sometimes paid off and sometimes didn't. A great book and I have requested the sequel from the library.


The Secret Country by Pamela Dean

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I discovered this trilogy in the best way - at the book store long ago when the first book had just come out. So as the story unfolded I was left on tenterhooks until each book came out. Frequent rereading has done nothing to dim my enjoyment. Here's the brief summary.

For the past nine years, cousins Patrick, Ruth, Ellen, Ted, and Laura have played at "The Secret"-a game full of witches, unicorns, a magic ring and court intrigue. In The Secret, they can imagine anything into reality, and shape destiny. Then the unbelievable happens: by trick or by chance, they find themselves in the Secret Country, their made-up identities now real. They have arrived at the start of their game, with the Country on the edge of war. What was once exciting and wonderful now looms threateningly before them, and no one is sure how to stop it . . . or if they will ever get back home.

.I particularly enjoy the fact that when they arrive in the Secret Country much of what they imagined doesn't match the Secret Country's "reality." People look different, the story goes off target occasionally, and so forth. That makes it all the more disconcerting when it is exactly right. Great fun, an imaginative "country" and I highly recommend it.

Real Christianity in Action: Path to Conversion of Heart is Through Actions Inspired by Love

I'm staying off the internet for the most part until after Easter, but wanted to drop in to share this story.

You may recall last week I pointed out a story about an atheist who was dumbfounded by Christians who offered to help pay for his vision problems despite the fact that he'd been on the opposing side in a struggle over having a Nativity scene at the local courthouse.

It has borne fruit in a most unexpected way. Thus does God work in hearts when we have done our part to show His true nature through our actions.

A few months ago Patrick Greene was an atheist who was threatening to sue Henderson County, Texas, if the county didn’t remove a Nativity scene from its courthouse lawn. Today he is a believer in Christ who underwent a radical change of heart that was catalyzed by the compassion of one Christian woman.

In late 2011, Greene joined the fight against a Nativity scene that had been set up outside the courthouse in the town of Athens, Texas, threatening to file a lawsuit over it. Shortly after he made his threat, however, he discovered that his ability to see was rapidly deteriorating and he would soon be blind, so he withdrew his threats and left the Nativity alone.

That’s when Jessica Crye, a Christian woman from Athens, asked her pastor, Erick Graham of Sand Springs Baptist Church, if they could help Greene. As a result of her kindness, thousands of dollars in donations have gone toward helping Greene, who has reconsidered his view of God as a result.

“There’s been one lingering thought in the back of my head my entire life, and it’s one thought that I’ve never been able to reconcile, and that is the vast difference between all the animals and us,” Greene told The Christian Post on Tuesday, as he began to explain his recent transformation from atheist to Christian. The theory of evolution didn’t answer his questions, he says, so he just set those questions aside and didn’t think about them anymore.

But when the Christians in a town that had reason to be angry with him showed him a gesture of love, he began reconsidering his beliefs altogether. He eventually began to realize that evolution would never have the answer to his questions, he says, and it was at that time he began to believe in God.

“I kind of realized that the questions I [was] asking you just had to accept on faith without doubting every period and every comma,” he said. He later began studying the Bible, both the Old Testament and the Gospels, and also discovered his belief that Jesus is the Son of God.

Read the whole story. Again, this is via The Deacon's Bench.

Today is Good Friday when Christ showed his love for us through His own self-giving and sacrificial love, even unto death. We are called up on to follow in His footsteps for thus shall others know our Master.

This is the Christianity that made  Romans say, "How they love one another."

Truly actions speak louder than words. May we all translate our love into such self-giving action as Holy Week ends and Easter comes.