Well Said: God's Fool

Ah, well, I am a great and sublime fool. But then I am God's fool, and all His work must be contemplated with respect.

Mark Twain, A Biography

Prayer Requests — For the Culture of Life

Beyond Cana Marriage Retreat

As many regular readers know, I've been involved with Beyond Cana for many years. It is our parish's marriage enrichment retreat. I've seen God use it to renew and strengthen marriages in wonderful ways, including my own.

This weekend we begin another retreat, joined by many last minute sign ups. I love that as a sign that God is working in couples' hearts always and everywhere.

Please pray for the couples attending and those presenting the retreat.

For Those Who Suffer from the Culture of Death — A Holy Hour Today

We must pray unceasingly for those who suffer from the unmerciful culture of death, laid bare in recent days and weeks with the Planned Parenthood videos we’ve seen and read about.

If you are in New York Friday (July 31) at 3 pm there will be a special holy hour for mercy, healing, and reparation. Please join us in prayer in person or wherever you are. Details here.

The rest of us can join them in prayer and fasting. That's the beauty of God's internet. (Via Kathryn Jean Lopez.)

Catholic Bytes - a great new Catholic podcast

Each episode features a different priest who is in Rome right now. They discuss a variety of topics such as the importance of the body, prayer, how Christ makes us free, saints, and much more.

No matter the topic, the explanation is simple and understandable. A host gently inserts questions for further information but the focus is on the presenter. There's also a quick summing up at the end which is a nice touch.

The episodes are short, between 8-10 minutes, which helps make them easy to fit into your schedule and to understand. Or you can do it like me. I'm addicted and have been listening to one after another.

They'd be good for anyone who is interested in learning more about the Catholic faith, from those who are simply curious to Catholics who'd like a quick refresher which might also just prove inspirational at the same time.

Catholic Bytes just began about a month ago but they've already got 13 episodes posted.

Not every episode shows up in the iTunes feed but if you go to Catholic Bytes' website, it's easy to go to the older page and download the older episodes.

Worth a Thousand Words: Life on the Provence Coast

Life on the Provence Coast
taken by French Sampler

None of the alleys near me ever look like this. Darn it.

Well Said: What's Your Hurry?

“What's your hurry?"

"Because now is the only time there ever is to do a thing in," said Miss Ophelia.”

Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin

I'm rereading this for the fourth time as I prepare for an upcoming episode of A Good Story is Hard to Find. Still loving it all the way.

Miss Ophelia and Topsy's relationship is one of my favorite parts of the book.

I listened to a number of audio versions before taking myself back to the one I did myself at Forgotten Classics. I was gratified to find that the reading wasn't half-bad; in fact, no worse than the best of what I could find on Audible. Plus the commentary was comparable to that of Heather Ordover at CraftLit.

It sounds as if I'm patting myself on the back, I know. The truth is that enough time has gone by (7 years) that I can listen to it objectively. I'm just pleased I did the job well. And can enjoy it myself from the "outside," as it were.

Worth a Thousand Words: Chagall

Chagall
painted by Karin Jurick

I love Karin Jurick's paintings of people looking at art but this one hits me harder than the others which are usually in well-lit museums. This one is in a museum also but it feels like a chapel because of the lighting and ambiance.

Well Said: A Good Prayer for Many Sad Hearts

When my friends are in sorrow and trouble, or even when they are just without spirit, I like to pray, "Jesus, they have no wine," or "Mary, they have no wine." It is a good prayer for many sad hearts today.

Dorothy Day, On Pilgrimage

I'm rereading this book which is Dorothy Day's daily diary from 1948. Into it she pours all the daily activities, which are quite varied considering she begins the year spending 2-1/2 months with her daughter in the country waiting for a new grandchild to be born and then returns to the city for her retreats and charity work.

Interspersed with all this are her spiritual reflections and often tart comments on the state of the country in general.

She's a fascinating person who I relate to in many ways. In others, not so much. But that's how it is with friends ... and saints ... is it not? The point is seeing where we intersect which, hopefully, is where Christ comes in.

This caught my eye because I recently began saying that prayer for my daughter and her fiancé who are searching for a good, inexpensive spot for their wedding reception. I thought what better prayer to say in this instance? After all, we know Jesus cared enough to provide enough wine to make that town very happy for a long time.

It was when reading this passage that I realized all the different ways "they have no wine" could be interpreted. What a good use of scripture in prayer.

What We've Been Watching

Summertime, with our regular television shows on hiatus, means we can catch up a little on our movie viewing. These are mostly big movies that I was curious about. They surprised me in ways I didn't expect, for the most part.

Birdman (or the unexpected virtue of ignorance) 2014

A fading actor best known for his portrayal of a popular superhero attempts to mount a comeback by appearing in a Broadway play. As opening night approaches, his attempts to become more altruistic, rebuild his career, and reconnect with friends and family prove more difficult than expected.

People either loved or hated this. Tom felt lukewarm approval. I can't say I hated it but it did seem like a big waste of time.

That one shot trick was amazing and the use of the drum score to highlight the character's internal tension was very interesting ... but in the end I felt as if I were watching a one trick pony.

I thought these quotes in Wikipedia said it all ...

[Director and cowriter] González Iñárritu's own experiences influenced many of Birdman's themes, and said "What this film talks about, I have been through. I have seen and experienced all of it; it's what I have been living through the last years of my life."

Duh.

Cowriter Dinelaris described this aspect as "a laughing look at oneself", but said it had to be done in a comedic way otherwise "it would have been the most unbelievably self-absorbed look at the subject".

I've got news for him. Humor didn't take that edge off.

I've seen All That Jazz. I've seen Adaptation.

Brilliant commentaries on art from people in those fields. Birdman was not those movies. Brilliant tricks and fantastic acting can't make up for an abundance of self-absorption and a lack of depth.

Magic in the Moonlight 2014

Set in the 1920s French Riviera, a master magician is commissioned to try and expose a psychic as a fraud.

A sweet little film that is not one of Allen's greatest but which does a good job in the first two acts of keeping us interested in the "is she or isn't she" clairvoyant question.

Colin Firth is good as the Houdini-esque character who debunks mediums. Emma Stone is good as the medium in question. Not something I'll want to watch again but it doesn't pretend to be more than it is. This was just what I expected it to be and that isn't a bad thing.

American Sniper 2014

U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) takes his sole mission—protect his comrades—to heart and becomes one of the most lethal snipers in American history. His pinpoint accuracy not only saves countless lives but also makes him a prime target of insurgents. Despite grave danger and his struggle to be a good husband and father to his family back in the States, Kyle serves four tours of duty in Iraq. However, when he finally returns home, he finds that he cannot leave the war behind.

This true-life tale is a surprisingly "traditional" sort of war movie in that it didn't worry about the politics of the war or about whether it was right or wrong to be in Iraq.

This is the story of a soldier doing the right thing as best he could, the toll it took, and his way back ... with no excuses and no finger pointing.

I found it refreshing.

Her (2013)

In the not so distant future, Theodore, a lonely writer purchases a newly developed operating system designed to meet the user's every needs. To Theordore's surprise, a romantic relationship develops between him and his operating system. This unconventional love story blends science fiction and romance in a sweet tale that explores the nature of love and the ways that technology isolates and connects us all.

This was a fairly astounding movie. It startled, shocked, endeared, and made us think. We're still talking about certain aspects, especially how it looked at men and women (the title is "Her" after all and there is more than one woman in it), while simultaneously thinking about how we interact with technology, AI, and aliens. The more I think about it, the more I admire it.

This is all without even going into the atypical-typical futuristic look, the color themes, and Joaquin Phoenix's brilliant acting.

There was a certain amount of predictability to at least half of it but the unpredictable parts more than made up for that element.

NOTE: There is a surprising amount of sex in this movie, though not a way that is easy to explain. It is there for a reason but still surprised us and sometimes made us uncomfortable (which in itself had a purpose in the movie).

Edge of Tomorrow 2014

Major Bill Cage is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously demoted and dropped into combat. Cage is killed within minutes, managing to take an alpha alien down with him. He awakens back at the beginning of the same day and is forced to fight and die again... and again - as physical contact with the alien has thrown him into a time loop.

This was recommended by two people or I probably wouldn't have bothered.

Not bad but not great. Tom Cruise is a pleasure to watch in action movies, which are what he does best. However, there was some sort of problem with the pacing so that both Tom and I at different times said, "How long is this anyway?" It fell short of 2 hours but felt more like 3. That could be because so much time was spent in the beginning making sure we understood the concept. Note to director/editor: we've seen Groundhog Day. Just get on with it.

The World’s Fastest Indian 2005

The life story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years building a 1920 Indian motorcycle -- a bike which helped him set the land-speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967.

The name and poster say it all. Anthony Hopkins gives a nice, underplayed performance as the old codger who no one takes seriously except the little boy next door. His goal is to get to Bonneville Flats with his 1920 Indian motorcycle in an attempt to beat the world land speed record. This sagged a bit in the middle on the road trip from L.A. to Utah, especially with so much of the story left to tell once he got to the trials. However, that's really neither here nor there in the big picture.

Not a big movie but it especially entertained my husband who loves cars and racing and engines and speed trials. Definitely recommended for Hopkins or car fans.

Worth a Thousand Words: Brousov Calendar

Brousov Calendar, Viktor Vasnetsov

Blogging Around

In Praise of Sadness: The Healing Insight of "Inside Out"

“Inside Out” stands in opposition to an entire culture that tells people that happiness is the highest, best and sometimes only permissible emotion, and that sadness is an obstacle to being happy, and that we should concentrate all of our emotional and cultural energy on trying to eradicate sadness so that everyone can be happy. 

A good piece for those who have seen Inside Out. It's by Matt Zoller Seitz, my favorite reviewer at RogerEbert.com.

When the Pope is Viewed Only Through a Political Lens

Standing on a stage beneath a yellow metal roof, Francis used the wedding feast of Cana – in which by the biblical account Jesus ultimately turned water from ablution jars into wine – as a metaphor in which the wine symbolizes happiness, love and abundance.

“This lack of ‘wine’ can also be due to unemployment, illness and difficult situations which our families may experience,” he said.

That's part of the New York Times' summary of Pope Francis's homily about the wedding at Cana and families in Ecuador. Reading the homily itself, one has a hard time seeing the summary above as accurate. Do take the time to read it. It made me remember what a treasure our families are and, of course, the marriages from which they spring.

GetReligion discusses the way journalists tend to report on Pope Francis versus what he's really doing, which is ... well ... poping.

Pope Francis is preaching. The faith elements are part of the content, not words that create an irrelevant frame for the real news, which by definition has to be about politics.

This conflicts, as I said the other day, with the"mainstream journalism Grand Unified Theory" stating that "no matter what the pope cites as his reasons for visiting a land or region, he is actually there for political reasons. He is there in an attempt to impact the lives of real people through political ideas or actions (as opposed to through sacraments, biblical truth, etc.)."

SIL missionaries, jungle Indians unexpectedly steer a Jewish reporter toward home

Ira Rifkin advises journalists who want to write about religion in a pluralistic society to get comfortable with people who believe very differently from them. His illustration is a personal story that is touching and inspirational. I'd quote some here but I don't want to ruin it. Just dart over to GetReligion and read it for yourself.

Well Said: Making Mistakes

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.

Albert Einstein

Worth a Thousand Words: Fern Forest

Fern Forest
taken by http://blog.moment.ee/2015/07/sonajalamets-fern-forest.html

There are so many wonderful photos at Remo Savisaar's blog right now that I had a hard time choosing. This just looks so peaceful and cool, doesn't it? And it is not at all what I'd expect to find in Estonia which I somehow imagine to be too chilly for ferns.

Well Said: Wasted Hours

Remember this, if you can--there is nothing, nothing more precious than time. You probably feel you have a measureless supply of it, but you haven't. Wasted hours destroy your life just as surely at the beginning as at the end--only in the end it becomes more obvious.

Herman Wouk, The Caine Mutiny

Scott and I recorded our upcoming episode about The Caine Mutiny last night. Our conversation brought me an even greater appreciation for the book.

Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi

Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity by Nabeel Qureshi


This is the book I'd recommend to any Christian who wants to understand how Muslims view Christianity (and Christians) and how they embrace and love their own faith. At least you'll better understand Westernized Muslims, which is the author's background.

Growing up between Great Britain and America, Nabeel Qureshi never fit in with Western culture because of his Islamic heritage. When Qureshi meets David, a devout Christian, he finally has a friend who is more like him than anyone else because their faith is such a core element of their lives.

Qureshi soon begins trying to convert David to Islam because he is sharing the greatest gift he knows, true knowledge of God. However, he gets a surprise when the arguments that previously planted doubt in Christians all fall apart when raised with a Christian who knows his faith well. In the process Qureshi carefully explains "what every Muslim knows" about Islam so that we understand his reasoning. This provided insights into the Muslim understanding of faith and God. What became really interesting was watching when Christian friends began asking about Muhammad and the Quran.

We know from the title where this book will end so as it progressed I became increasingly apprehensive, just as Qureshi was, for what a decision to become Christian would do to his loving parents. I really loved the window this book provided into a loving Muslim family and this was one of the most gripping parts of the book.

There is an emphasis in this book on history, source materials, and reliability of testimony which I am used to seeing applied to Christianity but which becomes riveting when seeing it applied to Islam. I also appreciated the way that Qureshi was careful to explain the differences between what Westernized Muslims teach versus Eastern Muslims. That in itself was an education and helped me see why some explanations of Islamic behavior (peaceful versus ISIS, for example) are so contradictory.

Eye opening, inspirational, and definitely recommended.

In which the White Moll carries out her promise to Gypsy Nan and encounters The Adventurer.

Chapters 3-4 of The White Moll are ready for your listening enjoyment at Forgotten Classics podcast.

Worth a Thousand Words: Dama en la Exposición Universal de Paris

Luis Jiménez Aranda, Dama en la Exposición Universal de Paris (1889)

This is another of the fine paintings we enjoyed last week on our date at the Meadows Museum. I found myself continually admiring Luis Aranda's paintings, as it turned out when I kept checking the plates next to various paintings.

Well Said: Giving and Following Advice

She generally gave herself very good advice (though she very seldom followed it).

Lewis Carroll

Isn't that the way?

I myself have the same problem. It's the source of many moments that lead me to the confessional.

Well Said: There are traps everywhere

In reading Chesterton, as in reading MacDonald, I did not know what I was letting myself in for. A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere — "Bibles laid open, millions of surprises," as Herbert says, "fine nets and stratagems." God is, if I may say it, very unscrupulous.”

C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy

I see that attitude a lot, beginning with St. Augustine. It's one of the reasons why I'm surprised that God snared me without any reading at all.

Of course, it didn't take long before he was peppering me with reading that carried me further and further under his influence. It began before my confirmation with a gift from my sweet godmother, Aunt C.B. who sent me Rome, Sweet Home by Scott Hahn. Thank you, Aunt C.B.!

Well Said: The acceptance of grace

The acceptance of grace is not a passive thing; it demands a surrender of something, even if it is only our pride.

Fulton Sheen, Peace of Soul

Ain't that the truth!

"Only our pride." That's the hardest surrender of all usually, at least for me.

Worth a Thousand Words: Saints Justa and Rufina

Saint Justa, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
The Meadows Museum

Once again, I'm going to remind anyone living in Dallas that The Meadows Museum at SMU is the city's best kept secret.

Thursday nights are free and so last night Tom and I had a date night perusing The Abelló Collection. It is one of top of private Spanish art collections, including works by some of the greatest artists from the 1500s through modern times. Some of the paintings were truly stunning and I was reminded that the computer is a flat way to see art.

We also went into the other half of the upstairs exhibit space where we encountered some paintings from the regular collection that we either didn't remember or were part of the concurrent exhibit: The Meadows Collects: 50 Years of Spanish Art in Texas.

At any rate, these two beauties by Batrolome Murillo (a favorite of mine) entranced me. I was drawn to them again and again.

I'll be sharing other favorites next week.

Saint Rufina, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
The Meadows Museum