We Have a Pope: POPE FRANCIS

The moment of silent prayer that the new Pope asked for before he blessed us all ... speaks volumes. It brought me to tears.

After his blessing was given and the people broke into cheers, he had such a humble but kind look on his face as he surveyed the crowd.

I think of what St. Francis of Assisi did for the Church. He had a deep love of Christ, a love for the poor, a self sacrificial nature ... and he was tasked by God with building His Church.

That is what we need in any age.

It certainly is what we need in our age.

I do not know anything about Cardinal Bergoglio aside from the fact that he's the first Jesuit and the first South American elected pope. Those are facts.

But we are beginning to know Pope Francis. We saw a touch of his heart today.

It's a good beginning.

WE HAVE A POPE --- I'M SO VERY EXCITED!

Who knew there'd be a pope so soon!

That means it was super-clear.

NOW ... the waiting ... to find out who our Holy Father is!

C.S. Lewis - A Life by Alister McGrath

C. S. Lewis a Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet by Alister E. McGrath

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a book written by someone who discovered Lewis through his writings, for others who have come to know Lewis in the same way. …

Why so? As Lewis emphasized throughout the 1930s, the important thing about authors is the texts that they write. What really matters is what those texts themselves say. Authors should not themselves be a "spectacle"; they are rather the "set of spectacles" through which we as readers see ourselves, the world, and the greater scheme of things of which we are a part. Lewis thus had surprisingly little interest in the personal history of the great English poet John Milton (1608-1674), or the political and social context within which he wrote. What really mattered were Milton's writings--his ideas. The way Lewis believed we should approach Milton must be allowed to shape the way we in turn approach Lewis. Throughout this work, wherever possible, I have tried to engage with his writings, exploring what they say, and assessing their significance.

Unfortunately, since I rarely read biographies, I was hoping that Dr. Alister McGrath would follow that approach much more than he actually did in C.S. Lewis--A Life. There were long swathes of the book where Lewis's life was the only story told and, honestly, I cared little for unvarnished biography without some concurrent literary engagement.

I realize this particular complaint is largely my own fault. To be fair, McGrath also says in his introduction that this is a critical biography and it is called "A Life" so I should have been expecting a lot of biographical material. Unfortunately, McGrath was often more interested in setting chronology straight or identifying vague sources from letters or notes than in engaging with Lewis' writing.

I was interested in C.S. Lewis, like many Americans as it turns out, because my love of J.R.R. Tolkien's writing led to an interest in his famous friend and fellow Inkling. (The Inklings were an informal literary discussion group in which both took an active part when professors at Oxford University.) I have long been fascinated by Lewis's versatility as an author. Anyone who could write The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia, 'Til We Have Faces, Mere Christianity, and A Grief Observed had not only popular appeal but amazing range.

What I found revealed in C.S. Lewis--A Life was a complex person who was both an accomplished liar and a sincere Truth seeker, someone who was downcast upon discovering God was a real person and yet wrote inspiringly about the joy of faith, a man who carried on scandalous romances but whose commitments were sincere. In other words, Lewis was thoroughly human.

I recognized myself in him more than I care to admit, largely in the contradictions between my faults and my aspirations, somewhat in my blind spots, but most of all in my love of the way that story tells us Truth in a way that facts cannot.

Lewis fits into a broader pattern at this tie--the conversion of literary scholars and writers through and because of their literary interests. Lewis's love of literature is not a backdrop to his conversion; it is integral to his discovery of the rational and imaginative appeal of Christianity. … Lewis's reading of the classics of English literature forced him to encounter and evaluate the ideas and attitudes that they embodied and expressed. And to his chagrin, Lewis began to realize that those who were grounded on a Christian outlook seemed to offer the most resilient and persuasive "treaty with reality."

I wasn't converted by literature but once that conversion took place I gradually began to see the layering of Truth within story in ways I couldn't before. McGrath is at great pains to point out how Lewis's fiction reflects Truth, albeit in a different way than Tolkien, of course.

The contrast with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is important here. The complex and dark narrative of The Lord of the Rings is about finding a master ring that rules the other rings--and then destroying it, because it turns out to be so dangerous and destructive. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia are about finding a master story that makes sense of all other stories--and then embracing that story with delight because of its power to give meaning and value to life. Yet Lewis's narrative nevertheless subtly raises darker questions. Which story is the true story? Which stories are merely its shadows and echoes? And which are mere fabrications--tales spun to entrap and deceive?

As someone who came to the Chronicles of Narnia as an adult and also before my conversion, I find McGrath's commentary upon Lewis's fiction particularly helpful. I haven't yet tried the Ransom Trilogy which is science fiction, but this will undoubtedly help when I do.

Anyone interested in Lewis's writing will find fascinating information in sections of this book. Those also coming to it with an interest in Lewis's actual life will probably really love it. That I didn't was, as I mentioned, due to my own interests and is no fault of the authors.

NOTE: I wrote this for the Patheos Book Club. Publishers pay for the Patheos Book Club to feature their books ... and I received a review copy free. However, my opinions are my own and I love or hate a book on its own merits.

On The Takeaway - UPDATED with audio

The Takeaway is a radio show produced by PRI and WNYC, with The New York Times. In fact, I very much enjoy the podcast of their movie review show, Movie Date.

They are having two or three Catholics on for a few minutes as the conclave starts in Rome, wanting to know as a Catholic, what are you thinking as the conclave convenes to select the next Pope? What are your hopes for the next Pope, and the future of the Catholic Church?

I was not sure they would be interested in my thoughts but once I spoke to the producer, they said they hadn't run into those views before. You'll have to wait to find out what those views are.

It will air at 8:10am Central Time.

==============

It went well, I think. At least it did according to a delighted Hannah who happened to get in the car and turn on NPR just in time to be surprised by her mother being introduced.

A few other people heard it and were very kind. At some point I think they put it up as a podcast and then I can hear what the other people said!

==============

Houston, we have audio! One billion Catholics wonder what's next but I actually get to talk about it!

Optimism Defined: Taking "Carry-On" Baggage into the Conclave

I hope the conclave will not go on too long. All I know is that I’m just taking in a small “carry-on” piece of baggage. If we’re in there too long, and if they show photographs of St. Martha’s from outside Vatican City, my room will be the one with the laundry hanging in the window to dry!

That's Cardinal Dolan for you. Practical, humorous, and optimistic!

I've been enjoying reading his occasional blog posts from the pre-conclave gathering. This last post before heading off was a bit like a peek inside.

The veteran cardinals tell me that the conclave is almost like a retreat. We of course concelebrate Mass every morning to begin the day, and pray the liturgy of the hours together. Obviously, we can visit and talk with each other at St. Martha’s House during our meals and brief time off between the actual voting, but, I’m told the actual hours in the Sistine Chapel, carried out scrupulously according to the traditional protocol, are done in an atmosphere of silence and prayer; it’s almost, the old-timers tell me, like a liturgy.

Go read it all.

The Doors Are Closed ... Come Holy Spirit

Come Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your divine love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit,
did instruct the hearts of the faithful,
grant that by the same Holy Spirit
we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations,
Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

Collect from the Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff.

O God, eternal shepherd
who govern your flock with unfailing care,
grant in your boundless fatherly love
a pastor for your Church who will please you
by his holiness and to us show us watchful care.
Through our Lord, Jesus Christ your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, forever and ever.

Amen.

Now we wait.

Image from Electing the Pope

Upstream Color - What the What?

Upstream Color

2013 Directed by Shane Carruth

Synopsis

A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the lifecycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives.

 

 

I saw this over on Letterboxd and as I was struggling to understand the description I came across this comment from a reviewer: "Further proof that Shane Carruth makes films that you don't watch to understand, you feel them."

I suddenly thought, "Wait a minute. What was that super-weird sf mystery that we never could make heads or tails of?"

Ah, yes. Primer. Directed by Shane Carruth. It all makes sense now. Note to self ... remember this name, so you can avoid at all costs.

Farmer in the Sky by Robert Heinlein

The Earth is crowded and food is rationed, but a colony on Ganymede, one of the moons of Jupiter, offers an escape for teenager Bill Lermer and his family. Back on Earth, the move sounded like a grand adventure, but Bill realizes that life on the frontier is dangerous, and in an alien world with no safety nets nature is cruelly unforgiving of even small mistakes.

I have always enjoyed Heinlein’s tales for juveniles more than his other writing. Having been told many times that I should read this book, I jumped at the chance to review the audiobook for SFFaudio. Bill is an Eagle Scout which comes in handy more than once and which reminds listeners of the original audience. In some ways this is like listening to the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder as Bill details homesteading on Ganymede. Heinlein does a good job of transferring standard pioneer problems and opportunities to a hostile environment in outer space. The tale is absorbing and I really enjoyed every detail of it.

It is funny listening to this book so long after it was written. It takes me back, in some ways, because the protagonist and his father are emigrating to Ganymede because population pressures and lack of available food make life pretty miserable. It isn’t quite as extreme as the movie Soylent Green portrays, but definitely is trending in that direction. If someone made Farmer in the Sky into a movie today, they’d be repurposing it to fit current worries over the environment or lowering birth rates in industrialized countries. It is like a time capsule of past worries, via an adventure/emigration tale.

Nick Podehl’s narration is excellent. I’m not sure how he manages to pull off sounding like a teenager without sounding wimpy, but he does. You get everything from awe at the things Bill encounters, panic at extreme danger, or the annoyance of a teenage boy at his father.

I don’t think that Farmer in the Sky is Heinlein’s best work for juveniles. I reserve that praise for my favorite, Citizen of the Galaxy. That said, Farmer in the Sky is a solid book that I can highly recommend.

Note: This review originally appeared at SFFaudio.

5 Things You Should Know About Aquinas and More

Aquinas and More has a fundraising update: After 150 hours they are past $38,000, which is 15% of their goal. Woohoo! However, they do begin their one week to deadline countdown tomorrow. So if you have been meaning to donate, now is the time. Details are below.

In other news, Ian says:

I have received some feedback about our campaign. The most surprising thing is what some of our customers or online fans didn't know about Aquinas and More! Yes, we are truly "not just a bookstore".

So today I thought I'd let you know 5 Ways why Aquinas and More is really a mission.

1) We have a No-China Products Policy : Because of the horrible human rights abuse and forced abortions in that country, we refuse to sell products made-in-China. What does this mean for you? Better quality and safer products, and not compromising on principles. I have a video here that you can view and share with other pro-lifers.

2) We have a Good Faith Guarantee:  We guarantee that the books we sell are faithfully Catholic. How do we do that?  We make sure what you are getting tells the truth about what the Church teaches. We are so confident about our product being authentically Catholic, that if you find something that is not Catholic – we will pay for you to send it back, remove the product, and give you a gift card to say Thank You. Where else can you find that? That's our Good Faith Guarantee. Here's a video that explains more.

3) Our Military Chaplaincy Registry: A few years ago, we created this program to help Catholic chaplains serving U.S. military personnel around the world. There is a great need, especially among chaplains in Iraq and Afghanistan, for resources to help meet service member's spiritual needs. Through this program we have been able to send thousands of Catholic gifts, Bibles, rosaries, catechisms, patron saint medals, prayer books and other items to our registered chaplains. Be sure to check out our registry.

4) Tiber River: Tiber River is a website is dedicated to providing authentically Catholic information and opinions about different areas of Catholic culture and to promote liturgical education throughout the Catholic world. The support of family values through our work will help to rebuild a truly Catholic culture that can be the salt of the earth and a light on the hill. 

5) Catholic Church Supply: We carry over a thousand church supply items to help furnish the sanctuary and sacristy at Catholic parishes, as well as vestments and clergy shirts. We even have a seminarian registry to help our young men prepare for their vocation to the priesthood. 

So there you have it. Five ways why Aquinas and More is more than just a bookstore!

I also wanted to take the time to give you an update after 150 hours. We are past $38,000, which is 15% of our goal. For all who have donated so far, I heartily thank you!

What does this mean for our campaign? Well, we still have a long way to go. Tomorrow we will be a week into our two-week campaign, so we are short of where we would like to be right now.

Can you help?

First, please remember to pray. Yesterday, we began the Novena to St. Joseph. We are using Pray More Novenas if you would like to join us! We are also praying the St. Michael the Archangel prayer daily.

Second, please be sure to share:

• If you can share the good news about Aquinas and More – and all the other good work we do – we will meet our goal!
   
• If you can post on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, or just forward this newsletter to your family, friends, and parishes – we will meet our goal!
   
• If you can share our crowdfunding page on your blogs and websites, we will meet our goal!

As we eagerly await the news of our next Pope, we realize that, like the Papal Conclave, our "Aquinas Angels" campaign is in His Hands. Thank you for all your support for these last 10+ years, and we look forward to meeting our goal and serving you for many more years to come.

Cardinal Dolan Reports From Rome ...

Heartfelt thanks for your prayers!  We need them!  We feel them!  Keep them up!  An old-timer told me that the days between the passing of one Pontiff and the election of a new one are like the days in Jerusalem after Our Lord’s Ascension to heaven.  The whole Church prayed, prayed hard, prayed long, united with the apostles and the Mother of Jesus, who were locked-up in the Cenacle, awaiting the supreme gift of the Holy Spirit!  That’s happening now, if your abundant and gracious notes and messages are any indication.

And we cardinals sure are praying a lot.  Every day we each begin with the most effective prayer of all, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  In our sessions we pray from the Divine Office, begin each meeting with the ancient prayer to the third Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, the Veni Sancte Spiritus, and we break at lunch with the beautiful words of theAngelus.  Wednesday, we cardinals made a Holy Hour of adoration before Jesus, really and truly present in the Blessed Sacrament, at the Altar of the Chair in Saint Peter’s Basilica.

Cardinal Dolan checks in from Rome. He says much more and I personally found it inspiring. Go read it all.

Atheist Penn Jillette Defends the Church to Catholic Journalist ... and Gets It Right

Now here's something you don't see every day. The Catholic journalist gets it all wrong.

Oh, wait, we do see that far too often.

However, atheist Penn Jillette defends the Pope and Catholicism accurately. And respectfully. Thank you, Mr. Jillette!

This is only 3 minutes long so do watch it.

Via Scott Danielson, my partner in crime at A Good Story is Hard to Find, who blogs at The Pool Room. He found it at First Things Blog.

Wool by Hugh Howey

Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I finished this book today, the same day that the Wall Street Journal had a piece about author Hugh Howey's "Underground Hit." See that's a joke because he's making a fortune self-publishing it as an e-book and the story is about people living underground in a silo underground ... oh never mind.

I enjoyed the piece, happy to see that a paperback version will be available soon, and Howey seems to be a savvy marketer. I can vouch for that because at the end of the book there is a Q&A set with him. Usually I don't read those but I'm glad I did because not only is he funny, but because the book's Epilogue follows. (Ha! He's a tricksy one, he is.)

He is also a pretty good author, I'm happy to report.

The Wool Omnibus contains five novellas telling the story of a civilization existing within an underground silo with 147 floors. Sole access to the outdoors is a window aboveground which shows a dreary landscape littered with bodies here and there. That's because the ultimate punishment is to be sent outside for Cleaning. Fitted out in a space suit, the condemned go out to clean the window so that everyone else can see the outside world. No one ever makes it much past that, collapsing from exposure to the toxic environment as they try to head over a hill for a better look at outdoors.

Major crimes involve things like the treason of mentioning Cleaning or wanting a change in one's situation. The right to try to have a baby is determined by The Lottery. We can see that this is a bleak world both inside and outside the silo. With control this tight we aren't surprised to see that something shady's going on in the way things are run. Different characters discover a Big Secret and, as they act upon their knowledge, everything in the silo begins to unravel. As always in such situations, will our heroes be able to see that right prevails?

The initial tale, Wool, was followed by stories which are connected but told from different perspectives. I enjoyed the double entendre of naming subsequent stories with titles proper both to knitting and to the internal action (Proper Gauge, Casting Off, Unraveling, Stranded). The overall story is well told and I was intrigued both with different aspects of silo civilization and the answers to the many questions that pop up as the story develops. The five-story structure allows Howey to not only include cliff hangers, but to make many characters multi-dimensional, even the villains who you long to send for a good Cleaning.

I did feel that the fifth story, Stranded, was much too long. I could have done without some of the diving descriptions for one thing. That said, it may be that I missed important facts because I was reading so fast. The story weaves between three perspectives ... or Strands - get it? ... and each has a vital mystery to be solved.

I am not sure I'll be interested in Silos, which is the set of prequel stories Howey has written. However, I enjoyed this so much that I am definitely going to be looking for more of his work.

Downpour - A Worthy Competitor to Audible With No DRM

Downpour.com, Blackstone Audio’s online audiobook store, is a genuine competitor to Audible.com.

It offers audiobook downloads of titles, from Blackstone Audio’s extensive catalogue, and also those from many other audiobook publishers like Recorded Books, Harper Audio, Penguin Audio, Hachette Audio, and AudioGo.

Their subscription service is almost identically priced to Audible’s, each offers one credit per month for about $15. And, like an Audible credit Audible.com, a Downpour credit almost always gets you one audiobook.

And they have no DRM.

Jesse at SFFaudio's been using Downpour and loving it. Read his review for more about DRM and Downpour.

Scott peels an orange. Julie avoids toll booths. Neither dares mention any "offers they can't refuse."

That epic mob movie that director Stanley Kubrick said was possibly the greatest movie ever made, and had without question the best cast ... The Godfather ... is discussed at A Good Story is Hard to Find. Scott chose it. Julie had never seen it. Her verdict? Listen and find out.

The Woodcutter by Kate Danley

The Woodcutter by Kate Danley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was interested in this book after reading a few reviews that said the author told a story referencing fairy tales, but in a way that made the tale itself something brand new ... yet faithful to fairy tales.

And this review pulled me in.

A thoroughly enjoyable retelling and combining of fairy tales from various sources.The message the same, even if the meaning is a little different: True love conquers all.

In this case however, true love is not the romantic, Disneyfied stuff. It is love that comes without enchantment or disguise. It is the love that contains a willingness for sacrifice and the quiet, comfortable warmth of true understanding and acceptance of another.

Reading the Kindle sample sealed the deal and I began waiting for the new month to roll around so I could borrow it free from the Kindle library.

Having read it at lightning speed, I concur with those marveling at the newness, yet faithfulness, of this fairy tale. It is indeed something more. When the mansion and the Gentleman comes up, I suddenly felt a resonance with Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell because that story is faithful to the old meaning of faery, rather than the Tinkerbell focus that is so seen today.

I'm supposed to receive the audiobook for review and I can't wait to reread this in that form. I really loved this book.

The Beverly Papabilies

Genius. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Jeff Miller is a genius. Here's a bit, then go read it all at The Curt Jester. (Ok, admit it. You're singing it just like I am ...)

Come and listen to a story about a man renamed Peter
A poor fisherman, barely kept his family fed,
Then one day Andrew brought Simon to see him,
And Jesus invites them to be fishers of men

Messiah he is, Son of God, Second person of the Trinity

Creamy Italian Dressing

I've never cared one way or the other about Italian Dressing which probably only goes to show that we didn't have it when I was growing up. My husband, however, did and when I tried out a Cook's Country recipe he was delighted. I, too, was delighted despite lack of previous experience. It is a delicious salad dressing.

Get it at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Blogging Around: Vatican-Centric Edition

ELECTING THE POPE
Dorian Speed, who I have the pleasure of having met, has put together a site with answers to all your papal election questions: Electing the Pope.


THE VATICAN DIARIES
A book I never heard of but which sounds like it is wonderful. Here's a bit of The Anchoress's review. Go read it all.

John Thavis, Catholic News Service’s recently-retired Rome bureau chief, spent a quarter of century watching the Vatican main players and seemingly talking to everyone, and all of that has translated into a thumping good read. His timely book The Vatican Diaries:A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church grabbed me at the intro and held my attention for six solid hours, to the finish; along the way I found myself laughing out loud at images of reporters trying to punch each other in the face, Cardinals offering their opinions on how to work the stove in the Sistine Chapel like “men around a backyard grill”, hungry Vatican workers gobbling surreptitious bits of banana as the princes and diplomats pass by, and a plane full of liquored-up Vatican correspondents getting face-time with a pope. I found the book so interesting that I demanded attention of my family and read portions aloud until they made me stop interrupting them.

THE NEXT POPE
Brandon Vogt broke his Lenten embargo on blogging long enough to give us the link to hear him on NPR. I'm glad he did because, as always, he's got it right.  I'm always glad when NPR gets someone to interview who I trust.

UPDATES FROM ROME
Cardinal Dolan is in Rome and has the link where we can hear his daily online updates on the papal election.

Now That's Tasty ...

... two recommendations to look for at the store ... HEB's Limited Edition Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream and Blue Plate Mayonnaise. At Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Why Public Schools Should Teach the Bible

Roma Downey and Mark Burnett make the case that we can't be considered literate without a basic knowledge of the Bible as text in this Wall Street Journal editorial.

Have you ever sensed in your own life that "the handwriting was on the wall"? Or encouraged a loved one to walk "the straight and narrow"?

Have you ever laughed at something that came "out of the mouths of babes"? Or gone "the extra mile" for an opportunity that might vanish "in the twinkling of an eye"?

If you have, then you've been thinking of the Bible.

These phrases are just "a drop in the bucket" (another biblical phrase) of the many things we say and do every day that have their origins in the most read, most influential book of all time. The Bible has affected the world for centuries in innumerable ways, including art, literature, philosophy, government, philanthropy, education, social justice and humanitarianism. One would think that a text of such significance would be taught regularly in schools. Not so. That is because of the "stumbling block" (the Bible again) that is posed by the powers that be in America.

Read it all. Downey and Burnett, both TV veterans whose European educations included reading the Bible, came up with The Bible  docudrama for The History Channel to help demonstrate their point.

It is possible to dig into the Bible as a literary text, which I did when requested to read Genesis on my podcast. Granted, I occasionally would stray into personal commentary, but t'was all to the good since that's what I do for every book I read there.

The promoters didn't have a screener and I don't have cable, so y'all will have to give me your opinions after it airs. Here's the link for The Bible.