Well Said: The Whole World

From my quote journal.

You mean that the whole world--the whole world with the sea, the sky, with the rain, the clouds--the whole world is a metaphor for something else?

Mario in Il Postino

Mind blowing. And true.

Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life by Elizabeth Scalia

Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life by Elizabeth Scalia

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The "you shall nots" are less a list of restrictions and limitations than an invitation to keep turning back to God, who will "satisfy the desire of every living thing." (Ps 145:16). The "shall nots" say, "Don't steal that, look at me. Don't objectify her with lust; look at me. Don't nurse your anger unto death! Look at me. Do not look out over there, not even to your past, be it good or bad; and do not look to your earthly desires. look at me, and let me love you, and you will have no need of the rest.

[...]

By instructing us to look at God with love and do the same with everyone else, Jesus is telling us, "Take your eyes off yourself." God does not say, "Love me first," because God has rejection issues, and Jesus does not add, "And then love your neighbors," because he simply wants us to play well with others. These commandments are, in fact, deeply personal ones. They are meant to lead us away from those empty depths of our being where the idols are formed and polished and brought to the fore of our regard.

Of course, Elizabeth Scalia is here discussing the Ten Commandments, especially in the context of the idols we make for ourselves in everyday life. We tend to think of idols as being as identifiable as a golden calf but the simple truth is that our idols often are set up without us noticing that we've turned away from God and are worshiping something else. Scalia examines the ways we idolize ideas, prosperity, technology, sex, and more. These sound remote and intellectual, but there is nothing remote about them, as we can see from this excerpt.

The Internet is a tool of staggering power, and it's a great gift for the gleaning of information and ease of communication; but the Internet might well be the greatest tempter to ego gratification since the hissing serpent of Eden. As such, the Internet is a most cunning inducement to idolatry. Like any good trap, it seems so very passive. We discover it with delight; we engage, we become adept (in some cases addicted), and are perpetually distracted. The evil one loves distraction--aims for distraction--because it is the means by which we lose track of God and dwell among the idols.

[...]

On the Internet, we are in many ways like gods. Using the Internet makes us identifiers of what is good! We are able to banish what is evil from our sight by banishing it from our site with the click of a button. ... We feel great while we are there, particularly when our tweet is noticed and passed around with approval, or our drop is liked and shared. ... When we are online, some of us feel more alive than at any other time of the day. That is an insidious illusion, beloved of Satan who wants us to be delighted, engaged, addicted, and distracted. How can we be alive to God and to the workings of the Holy Spirit, if we are spending hour after hour alive to only ourselves, reveling as our ideas, opinions, and words are reflected back at us, forever and ever, Amen?

Note that she's not saying any and all use of the Internet is bad (so you're safe to keep reading here!) but that it is whether our use is intentional or not, whether it is mindful or not, whether we are in danger of putting it before God and the people in our lives. I myself had already identified the way I get lost for hours on the internet. However, that is a particular problem I have. If it were not the internet, it would be a book, a computer game, and so on. For me, the struggle is to notice what new idol I am allowing to suck my time away so I can be mindful.

Your idols will vary, of course. If Scalia doesn't touch on one of them then you are not being really honest. Don't worry that she is shaking a nay-saying finger at us. She uses her own life and experience as the examples to bring her topic alive. Written in an accessible, conversational style, this book is for anyone who ever enjoyed Scalia's blog, The Anchoress, but without the politics. It is the best of how she writes, focused on a topic we need to consider for our own lives. Get it. Read it. Highly recommended.

Note: this was a free review book by a pal ... but if I didn't like it, you'd never have heard of it from me.

Prayer Request - Updated - RIP Mary Davis

UPDATE
Tom's mother, Mary, died yesterday evening just a few days away from her 89th birthday. She had as good a death as one could wish for, surrounded by everyone who could get there. The priest had been the day before with the rites for the sick and the Apostolic Blessing, so she was as prepared as she could be for anything. We had been keeping vigil all day so she was surrounded by loved ones.

We were happy for her merciful release into the arms of Jesus, crying our eyes out, and Hannah was holding her hand. Unbeknownst to each other, I was praying Hail Mary's repeatedly ("pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death" had never had more meaning) and Hannah was praying the Fatima prayer. So she slipped out on a silent sea of prayer.

Eternal rest grant unto Mary, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

The funeral will be in Houston where she grew up and where many of her relatives still live.

I'll be in and out of touch on the blog for the next week, understandably.

====

Tom's mother has pneumonia. She's in her late 80s and has been living in hospice care for at least a year so they will keep her comfortable as possible but not do any strenuous measures. Please keep her and the family in your prayers.

In a stroke of divine irony, or perhaps it is merely proper perspective, this morning we are off to the baptism of a tiny baby girl who was born 3 months early. Luckily she had no health issues other than premature arrival and is thriving. Naturally she was baptized in the hospital, but this is the celebration of a new sister for us all. Thinking of this tiny girl with an enchanting, one-sided smile reminds me to pray for all those young families with premature arrivals.

Julie has her digging stick. Scott looks out for hyenas.

They're discussing Kirinyaga by Mike Resnick at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

On a personal note, this book is going on my "Best of 2013" list and I am pushing it on everyone I meet. It deserves all the awards it won. Read it!

Worth a Thousand Words: Muskrat

Muskrat
taken by Remo Savisaar

I often look at nature pictures and recall that this is what life really is. Not sitting at my desk, typing, talking on the phone, and so forth. Those may be necessary to my job, but they are not what we were created for. And so it is a good thing to keep that in mind as a way of keeping one's sense of proportion about life.

This Just In: The Church by Mike Aquinlina and Cardinal Wuerl

The Church: Unlocking the Secrets to the Places Catholics Call Home by Mike Aquilina




Mike Aquilina and Cardinal Wuerl's book The Mass left me wondering why they hadn't explained things like votive candles or the statues of saints in a church.

Now I see why. They were planning this companion book to cover the physical Catholic church building (a little bird has whispered that a third is underway about the liturgical year). As the introduction begins, this book explains how to "read" a church. Even better, the "reading" leads to knowing how to "pray" a church because what we see then leads our mind and hearts higher, helping to pull back the veil between us and God.

I can't wait to read it as that is one of the puzzles I had to tease out for myself after I converted, using several different books to do so. If this one is as good as The Mass, and I see no reason why it wouldn't be, then it will be an invaluable resource for anyone with similar questions.

More as I go ...

More Scenes From the Rural Life by Verlyn Klinkenborg

More Scenes from the Rural Life by Verlyn Klinkenborg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a review book from Amazon Vine.

I hadn't heard of this author but was casting around for something different to read. The idea of reading someone's collected essays about life on a farm in upstate New York sounded just the thing, almost like an adult version of the Laura Ingalls Wilder tales I always loved as a child.

It was definitely the right choice as I have been enchanted by the beauty of Verlyn Klinkenborg's prose, the strength of his understanding of nature and animals, and in the vivid images which make me feel as if I am there in the country. Truly, this description of the book is not overstating the case:

Klinkenborg's pieces are admired as much for their poetic writing as for their insight: peonies are "the sheepdog of flowers," dry snow "tumbles off the angled end of the plow-blade as if each crystal were completely independent, almost charged with static electricity," and land is most valuable "for its silence, its freedom from language." Klinkenborg writes with a grace and understanding that makes us more aware of the world around us, whether we live on a farm or in the middle of a city.

It is almost as good as taking a vacation. I find myself deliberately slowing down, savoring the writing, and simply relaxing.

There is a section in the middle of the book called Interludes wherein are included more direct commentary on subjects like genetically engineered crops, big farming, and so forth. I read the first couple but, frankly, I found nothing that I hadn't picked up already in the more lyrical journal style writing from the rest of the book. One may agree with him or not in these more opinionated pieces and I found that about 90% of the time I did agree. As I say, I lost nothing in briefly skimming most of them and moving on. The other essays which make up most of the book are more thoughtful and reflective and naturally tied to the land. Therefore, I found these pointed pieces to be overkill. Your milage may vary. The pointed pieces cost the book one star from me.

Despite the Interlude, this book is a rare find for me and one that I will enjoy rereading over the years.

What Tom Learned on Our Summer Vacation

Part 2 of the Summer Vacation series.

I was pretty excited about the chance to listen to audiobooks with Tom. It turned out that Tom, never having listened to an audiobook, was nervous I'd commit us to a 26-hour whale like Middlemarch.

Never fear!

We went with a light mix of nonfiction and classic crime fiction. He loved all of them.


Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It might seem odd to choose this book for a cross-country drive with one's husband. But we both really like The Mindy Project so we were prepped for her style. It was like listening to a memoir / stand-up routine / Hollywood behind-the-scenes tale.

It was a tad girly, even for me. But that's Mindy. I came away impressed with her solid common sense, her family, and her humor.

I'd like to buy every young woman I know a copy.

And I'd love to sit on an airplane next to Mindy sometime.


Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a huge hit with Tom. It might be called the perfect intro audiobook for someone who doesn't ever read fiction. It was full of ideas that we would we stop the book to discuss. Sometimes we said, "oversimplification!" And then we discussed. The driving time flew by.

My main takeaway was incentive. I have seen so many ways to apply that overall concept even while on vacation and having various conversations.


Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


We both loved this book. William Dufris' narration was simply stellar. It was like listening to an all star cast.

This book's classic status is well deserved. We were so interested in the fact that John Huston both wrote and directed the movie that we wanted to see how he handled translating the book to film. No wonder we recognized so many lines from the book. Huston went with the best whenever possible. It still isn't a favorite movie of mine, but it was fascinating to watch with the book so fresh on our minds.

And, again, I must mention that William Dufris' narration makes it. His "fat man" has to be heard to be appreciated.

What I Learned On My Summer Vacation - Part 1

We went to a niece's wedding in Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains at Wintergreen Resort. Tom and I then took advantage of being "back East" to go to Pittsburgh and meet some online friends in person.

A few discoveries, in no particular order.

• When you go to a wedding on a mountaintop and the first thing you see next to the outdoor seating is a can of Deep Woods Off ... use it. Don't think the stiff breeze will keep the insects away. Just use it.
  
  
• When you attend a wedding on a mountaintop, it may be punctuated by bird song or raptor cries. This adds a note of romance. The cat yowling at a nearby house (albeit one hidden by dense forest) does not. Especially when everyone is wondering whether that is a baby or a cat.
  
  
• You can completely plan a destination wedding by email, as my brother and sister-in-law in Germany discovered. A lot of it will go just as you hoped. However, much of it may lead to a series of miscommunications, especially if the destination resort doesn't really take the wedding planning in hand the way it might (yes, Wintergreen Resort, I'm looking at you).
  
  However, the great thing about having a series of miscommunications during a wedding is that you soon discover everything works out ok anyway and that the important things are what matter ... such as the wedding itself. So in a way that is a great way to have your married life begin. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!) Plus, that wedding cake was one of the most delicious I've ever had. I'm just sayin' ... sometimes things go better than you could have expected.
  
  
• When you stay at the Holiday Inn Express in a nearby town, rather than at the mountaintop resort, you soon discover that repeated forays up very steep, crooked inclines may put a strain on your car's 8-year-old transmission.
  
  This adds a note of anticipation and adventure to every subsequent foray up and down. It also adds a note of nostalgia for one's childhood when cars were not so reliable. It also increases one's prayer life, sense of trust in God, and adds a lot of variety to routes taken as one continually strives for the level, gradual paths. So ... that's all to the good! (Again, my story and I'm stickin' with it.)
  
  
• As is often the case at these things, I didn't get to talk to my family members nearly as much as I wanted. However, I did get to have very enjoyable conversations with many other guests, including a young couple who are making a go of it as vegetable farmers supplying restaurants with fresh produce, a young Combat Medic off to her first posting in Germany, and part of my sister-in-law's family who I'd never have met otherwise. I love the random nature of these encounters and how interesting everyone was.

Part 2 is here.

Worth a Thousand Words: Heinz Memorial Chapel

73-foot tall North Transept windows of Heinz Memorial Chapel
on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh.
photo by Laurie Stepanek/Mike White
via Wikipedia

Nativity scene. Heinz Chapel detail.
via Wikipedia

On our recent visit to Pittsburgh, one of the sights that elicited awe was the Heinz Memorial Chapel. Tom has some photos which I hope to share soon, but in the meantime do take advantage of the links to  enjoy a virtual tour of the chapel. Wikipedia seems to have more complete information than the chapel's website, but there are some glorious images at both sites.

We knew nothing about the chapel but were wandering around the university area and were drawn to the fine architecture. Entering was a complete surprise, as you can imagine.

Each of these tall windows has a unique theme which is illustrated with a range of religious and secular figures. It was a distinct pleasure to see the range of people used to remind us that Courage or Tolerance come in many forms.

Heinz Memorial Chapel at the University of Pittsburgh,
photo by Michael G. White
via Wikipedia

Julie was busy in the LEM when Scott stirred the tanks. The rest is history!

We discuss Apollo 13, directed by Ron Howard, on A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

Catholic Basic Resources List

I'm stepping away from the blog for almost a couple of weeks while I go trekking about to the Blue Ridge Mountains for a niece's wedding and then on to Pittsburgh where I will finally meet a couple of friends face-to-face! Online friends, it is needless to say.

I'm greatly looking forward to all of this, not least of all the long car trip with Tom. We always find our conversations turning in ways we never could expect, sometimes prompted by our podcast or music listening, sometimes by the landscape around us, sometimes simply by our proximity and wandering thoughts. He drives and I knit. Or I drive and he often has to check email. But it is a closeness that is achieved no other way I know of today.

I'm also looking forward to unplugging as much as it is possible to do these days.

However, I'll leave you with something that will provide good reading for several days, at least.

I did a Catholic Basics list as part of our RCIA group's mystagogy  resources. Mystagogy is when you actually begin to learn how to live as a Catholic. The list has books, websites, comments on Bible translations, and that sort of thing.

I've been meaning to share it here section by section but never found the time.

Therefore, I have uploaded the pdf, which has live links if you're into that sort of thing, and you may download it to peruse at your leisure.

Obviously it is far from complete and someday I may have that chance to post expanded sections here. However, in the meantime, better this than nothing at all.

I hope you enjoy it!

P.S. I'm going to close comments while I'm gone just to avoid spamming problems.

Fantastic Advice for When We Are Blue-Deviled ... and a Great Book on Saints

... as Georgette Heyer would put it. Dash it against the cross of Christ sez The Anchoress who has been fighting those feelings all week.

Actually, “doing battle” sounds romantic and pro-active. It would be more accurate to say I have been whining and unable to work and whining about being unable to work, and wandering around the house ineffectually, and walking the park feeding ducks, and missing my dog, and cooking supper and sitting before my oratory with nothing but a keening emptiness in my heart and mind and soul.

It is terrible to realize that you’re a walking, aching void. Acedia is like a dark echo-chamber of “me” bouncing off walls and resounding until nothing can get through the thickness of the self.

Definitely go read this because it is the story of how personal struggle pulls us deeper into our appreciation and friendship with the saints who have been there before us.
-----------
Speaking of saints, I had occasion to email The Anchoress on an entirely different subject. She then took a book I mentioned and which I am always kicking myself for not having reviewed ... Bert Ghezzi's Voices of the Saints. I have it on my Kindle (and although I wish the indexing were better ... or even existant ... in that version) but today I pulled it off my bookshelf in real, solid form. There is nothing like an actual book. I can sink into the stories of the saints so much better that way.

Anyway, the review I kick myself for never writing has been written ... by The Anchoress. Go read. And then get yourself a copy!

Always Mean What You Say ... And Follow Through

ALWAYS MEAN WHAT YOU SAY.

Period. That's the whole method. But it wouldn't make for a very long blog post. I want you to get your money's worth. So let me flesh it out a bit for you.

My husband and I are often told how lucky we are to have such great kids (true) or complimented on our parenting skills (which worked out ok too evidently).

I don't have to write them down now because Kendra already did. Go read it at Catholic All Year.

If you read just the bold parts, then you'll get my verbal version given in response to the above-mentioned comments from friends.

The one thing our girls always add when this comes up is, "You treated us like people, not children."

That's nice to know because it is how we thought of them. Because ultimately it is about respecting each person and making sure they respect you and the family as a whole. It's not always easy. But it is that simple.

Bookmark goes undercover as a maid, while Popcorn is outside drinking tea from a crumpled paper cup.

Scott and Julie enjoy their new Punjabi nicknames almost as much as they enjoyed The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall. Get it at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

Of Encyclicals, Formatting, and Kerfluffles

A few days ago I heard that Brandon Vogt got hit with the ol' Vatican/USCCB cease-and-desist for trying to make Pope Francis's Lumen Fidei encyclical more accessible to a larger audience. (If you want details, the last place I read about it was Simcha Fisher's column.)

That sort of silliness is old news to anyone who ever helped with the Verbum Domini podcast where many years ago the founder had the temerity to read aloud the daily Mass readings using the New American Bible (USCCB owns the rights and defends them aggressively). Some nerve, right? He had to cease-and-desist and now everyone who reads for him has to go through the extra steps of finding the RSV version for the day.

I mentioned Simcha Fisher's piece because I actually glanced over the comments there, something I rarely do when there are so many comments. I was surprised to see some of the reasons that people were defending the Vatican and USCCB. (The one that made me laugh hardest was someone taking Vogt to task for critiquing the Vatican's pdf format. Folks, I've gotta say, anyone still formatting with tables is surely moving with that glacial slowness the Vatican is famous for. They've got no defense on that one at all.)

Fixing dinner and then washing up later, I pondered the arguments on both side. I thought surely there must be a precedent for such a thing. Weren't the disciples (that's us) told to spread the Good News? For goodness sakes, Jesus didn't even write down anything he said.

I hate to pull in that old cliche, but what would Jesus do?

Then it hit me. Of course, there is a precedent. One of the things I really love is the way that Christ's own life provides us with so many examples to live by in every circumstance.

We see it in both Mark and in Luke.

Then John said in reply, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow in our company.”

Jesus said to him, “Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”

Luke 9:49-50

----
John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.”

Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me.

For whoever is not against us is for us.

Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

Mark 9:39-41

I'm going to get back to reading Lumen Fidei now. It is rich and I am moving through it slowly. I cut and pasted it into a document to bring home and enjoy at my leisure. I admit it, I didn't like the formatting on the Vatican's pdf. Too many pages to print out and gigantic type. So sue me.

A Must for My Reading: Book Darts

The comments about writing in books made me realize that I have not shared one of the best inventions known to those who don't want writing in their books.

I use Book Darts as bookmarks for one thing. They can't slide to the floor from between the pages.

Of course, I also use them as intended by marking passages with them. In fact, when I begin any book, I always slip a few extras onto the last page so I can grab one whenever something strikes me.

These are invaluable for my book club and podcast reading, where I want to be sure I can easily make notes of pages for later conversation. Or for marking those spots which will be going into a quote journal.

Highly recommended.

Write in Your Books

Long ago I got over the idea that I shouldn't write in my books. I'll admit that I only apply this to nonfiction. My fiction remains strictly unmarked.

However, my nonfiction often winds up with a checkmark or star next to significant passages. I don't underline or highlight since that interferes with rereading, as I found to my sorrow soon after I began the practice.

Joel J. Miller encourages even more than my simple system as you may read for yourself. Via Phil at Brandywine Books whose system seems like mine.

In which Doan and Carstairs solve not just one mystery, but all of them.

The finale of The Mouse in the Mountain by Norbert Davis ... it's ready now at Forgotten Classics.

Don't Blink -- Beware of Weeping Angels

Holy ... uh ... moly.

Watching Dr. Who, season 3, and finally got to the famous "Blink" episode. I now understand why friends and well-wishers always inquired whether we'd seen it yet.

I actually was shouting at the tv at one point, I was so unnerved ... and Sally Sparrow was so slooooow!

I will just say that I woke up several times last night and each time what leapt to mind were stone angels looming over me. Not weeping ones, folks. I only wish they had been ...

(I'd elaborate but I know Rose hasn't seen this yet and I'm trying to be spoiler-free.)

On another note, I did like what the writer of that episode said about Dr. Who. As a relatively new series viewer, I like the distinction Moffat makes between childish and childlike. Of course, what he says about monsters is true no matter what.

You have to remember that being scared of the dark and being scared of monsters is basically a childish impulse. There's always something of the nursery about horror....Adults never quite grow out of their childhood fears. They just belong in a different part of our heads. Doctor Who isn't a childish programme, but it is childlike: it's a programme for children. And many, many adults who watch and love it watch it as that: as something like Harry Potter.

Steven Moffat on writing horror fiction for Doctor Who