Worth a Thousand Words: Great White Egret

Great White Egret, Remo Savisaar

Well Said: An infinite number of crucified persons in the world ...

I see an infinite number of crucified persons in the world, but few who are crucified by the love of Jesus. Some are crucified by their self-love and inordinate love of the world. But happy are they who are crucified for the love of Jesus. Happy are they who live and die on the cross with Jesus.

St. John Eudes

via Voices of the Saints by Bert Ghezzi

Cheesy Chicken-and-Spinach Stromboli Ring

It's a sort of pizza jelly-roll filled with deliciousness. It's the latest meal at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Thank You for The Wind in the Willows!

What a wonderful surprise it was to have this show up unexpectedly in my mailbox this morning! To whoever went to the trouble of visiting my Amazon wishlist and sending me this little treasure — thank you!

J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter

Born in South Africa in January 1892, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was orphaned in childhood and brought up in near-poverty. He served in the first World War, surviving the Battle of the Somme, where he lost many of the closest friends he'd ever had. After the war he returned to the academic life, achieving high repute as a scholar and university teacher, eventually becoming Merton Professor of English at Oxford where he was a close friend of C.S. Lewis and the other writers known as The Inklings.

Then suddenly his life changed dramatically. One day while grading essay papers he found himself writing 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit' — and worldwide renown awaited him.

I recently read Humphrey Carpenter's book, The Inklings, for a discussion at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast and it piqued my interest in his biography of one of my favorite authors. I liked The Inklings but this book was even better, possibly because Carpenter was focusing on one person instead of a group.

It gave a thorough story of Tolkien's life without sugar coating his flaws but in a way that allowed me to understand and appreciate him as both a person and author. I'm not usually very interested in biographies but read this in record time, which is a tribute to Carpenter's skill in finding a fascinating story in the outwardly mundane life of an Oxford professor.

Of course, like Dr. Who's TARDIS, we're all bigger on the inside and Tolkien's inner landscape held a vast imagination coupled with interest in so many topics that he was sometimes unable to finish a project unless prodded by deadlines or friends. It is Humphrey Carpenter's ability to reconcile Tolkien's inner and outer man, while including his popular fiction in the timeline, that make this book so riveting. We feel we truly know J.R.R. Tolkien by the end.

And, this is the ultimate tribute to the author's skill ... as I read the epilogue, I cried.

Worth a Thousand Words: The TV Studio

The TV Studio, Edward B. Gordon

Well Said: Tolkien and Democracy

I am not a "democrat," if only because "humility" and equality are spiritual principles corrupted by the attempt to mechanize and formalize them, with the result that we get not universal smallness and humility, but universal greatness and pride, till some Orc gets hold of a ring of power—and then we get and are getting slavery.

J.R.R. Tolkien

The Remedy for a Bad Homily

We've got a couple of priests and one full-time deacon in our parish, as well as a couple of regularly scheduled fill-in priests for weekend masses. On any given Sunday you have a one-in-five chance of getting the consistently outstanding homilist. The others are average. One usually hovers close to a high average and all can hit the heights occasionally. But there are those who live in the middle and sometimes dive closer to the depths. Those depths can be pretty shallow.

Now, we're lucky because these guys aren't straying from the truth of Catholicism (as I've heard occasionally when visiting other parishes). The worst that happens is that one remains uninspired, struggling to connect with God.

I know the point of the mass is not the homily. I also know that not every homily is directed at me personally and it might be just what someone else needs to hear. However, you can't deny that a good homily goes a long way toward enriching the entire experience as well as the week to follow.

I have fallen into preparing for Sunday mass beforehand, which is a good habit no matter what kind of homily you expect. There is nothing like being familiar with the readings beforehand for allowing you to sink into them as you hear them read during the liturgy. These are often the times when you are open enough to let God in.

With all that in mind, here are a few of my favorite resources.

FIRST 

Read the Sunday readings.
You can find them at the US Bishops' website 

where you can click on the handy calendar for next Sunday. 

SECOND

Easy listening, worthwhile podcasts.
Just like a homily, let these reflections wash over you.

Word on Fire

Bishop Robert Barron's homilies

These are about 15 minutes long and come out on Wednesday usually. Bishop Barron often goes for an angle that I don't expect and which is almost always thought provoking. That makes them a perfect warm up to getting your head in the game. (iTunes link, website link)

Lanky Guys

Reflections and context on the readings

Fr. Peter Mussett and Deacon Scott Powell take listeners through the scripture for next Sunday's liturgy. They read each one aloud and dig deeper into context and background about historical, scriptural and liturgical connections. About 45 minutes long, it comes out on Thursday or Friday which gives me time to listen to it in pieces before Sunday. (website link, iTunes link)

THIRD

Read up.

The Beauty of the Word 

by Anthony Esolen

I use this on Sunday morning. Anthony Esolen focuses on the Collect, Prayer over the Offerings, Preface, and Prayer after Communion for every Mass through the year. He draws the reader's attention to connections with scripture, the Mass readings, and Christ in our lives. This is an easy and quick read each week but I find the prayers have much more meaning when I've read this beforehand. (My full review here.)

Footprints on the Mountain: 

Preaching and Teaching the Sunday Readings 

by Roland J. Faley

I read this Sunday morning. It provides scriptural background on all the readings for each Sunday (nicely divided up into A, B, and C years), as well as at least eight ideas for reflection. The background also discusses why the readings complement each other and specific insights to be found for each. Plus, this is summed up in a brief but pithy reflection on what these readings and points mean to believers. (My full review here.)

In Conversation With God 

Series by Francis Fernandez-Carvajal

I read the upcoming Sunday reflection on Saturday with breakfast. I have been using this series for about 16 years and have yet to find one that is better or more complete. It follows the daily Mass readings, but has a separate reflection for each of the A, B, and C Sundays of the year. Topics range from the sacraments and virtues to family interaction and friendship. It is both practical and inspiring. (My full review here.)


There are obviously lots more good resources out there. Magazines like Word Among Us and Magnificat are some that spring to mind. These are just what appeal to me every week.

The real key is to pick one or two favorites and prepare yourself to encounter God in His Word each Sunday. Then a good homily is a nice bonus and a bad one is easier to tolerate.

Well Said: You can't object to "cultural" apparently

"Cultural, is it?" Dr. Hopkins looked relieved. He was a man who tried to see the best in everybody but the city had gotten rather complicated since he was a boy ... He wasn't sure that he liked everything that was happening, but a lot of it was "cultural," apparently, and you couldn't object to that, so he didn't. "Cultural" sort of solved problems by explaining that they weren't really there.

Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time

Worth a Thousand Words: Landscape with Coach

Hugo Mühlig, Landscape with Coach
via Lines and Colors

Well Said: When people tell you something's wrong ...

Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.

Neil Gaiman's 8 rules of Writing

Worth a Thousand Words: La Grenouillère

La Grenouillère, 1868, Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Worth a Thousand Words: Fireweed

Fireweed, taken by Remo Savisaar

Lagniappe: Manhandled

I don't like being manhandled, even by young women who look like something out of mythology when they're steamed up.

Dashiell Hammett, Red Harvest

Genesis Notes: Joseph Sold By His Brothers

GENESIS 37
Joseph's story is of the best known in the Bible and yet there is so much to learn that I had never considered. I like the "big picture" personal message that is there about cooperating with God's plan as He brings good out of what we see as bad things.

Joseph and His Brethren Welcomed by Pharaoh, James Tissot

It is one of the great ironies and wonders of the way God works that the very thing Evil hopes will derail His plans, turns out to usher those plans in. The rest of this story will show that what the brothers meant for ill—throwing Joseph into a pit and selling him into slavery—is the thing that God uses to accomplish what they hoped to make impossible, his reigning over them. This should remind us of the way God took the very Satan could do to Jesus and turned it into the door to eternal life, the door that Satan was trying to slam forever. In this way God uses even evil people and intentions as instruments of good. “So too,” says the Great, “when one wants to avoid the divine will, then is when it is fulfilled” (Moralia, 6,18,20).

All quotes from Genesis, Part II: God and His Family. This series first ran in 2004 and 2005. I'm refreshing it as I go. For links to the whole study, go to the Genesis Index. For more about the resources used, go here.

White Cheddar and Bacon Risotto

From Cooking Light and loaded with flavor. I've got it over at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Jeremiah and the Word of God - from Bishop Robert Barron

Bishop Robert Barron's homily for this Sunday focuses on Jeremiah the prophet and his connection to our modern life.

This one I'm going to keep for repeated listening. Not only do I love Jeremiah but the inspiration to stand up for our faith against continual secular push-back is very timely. Hear the podcast at the link above.

Hurricane Harvey and H-E-B

When we left for Florida last week, Hurricane Harvey was threatening landfall in Corpus Christi, where my husband has relatives. Of course, like everyone at the time we were relieved to hear it was going to miss Corpus ... and then horrified at the havoc wrought upon Houston by the never ending rainfall. We were relieved to find that my husband's Houston-based relatives were not in danger but the flooding in such familiar areas is really surreal to people who know it well.

While we donate and help however we can (my charitable avenue is Catholic Charities), let's not forget the power of prayer. God will help in ways we cannot foresee.

May God, the Lord of mercy and compassion, protect all who are still in danger, and bring to safety those who are missing.

May He care in a special way for those who were already homeless, or without support and resources, before this disaster.

We pray in thanksgiving for the first responders who are risking their lives to save others at this very moment.

We include in our intentions the everyday heroes reaching out to help their neighbors in need, those who, like the Good Samaritan, cannot walk by a person in need without offering their hand in aid.

Amen.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

Speaking of tangible aid, I found this video heartwarming. H-E-B is a Texas grocery store chain which is much beloved throughout the state. Certainly, I love their Central Market which is near my house. So I was happy to see how much a part of the community they are.

Ben-Hur and Me: 1957, 2016, and 1880

One thing I have discovered is that once I've seen one chariot race, I've seen them all. Luckily, there is much more to Ben-Hur than the famous chariot race.

1959 film

This is the one everyone has seen at least once. I've seen it numerous times and so have passed from wowed to blasé to appreciative over the years. Most recently I viewed it for a 2015 discussion at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast with Scott Danielson. That was the viewing where I was suddenly much more appreciative than I've been before. Yes, it's 3-1/2 hours and Charlton Heston can be pretty stiff sometimes, but this is the one you want to watch.

Then I watched the 2016 version with Rose recently. She'd only seen this version once so I simultaneously summarized the differences between the two films while we were watching. (Just for the record, this was at her specific request.) It made me appreciate this version even more and pat myself on the back for how well I recalled the plot.

2016 movie

By itself, without knowing the story in any other way, this 2016 version of Ben-Hur is fairly forgettable. To be fair, this director is known for great action (I loved Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter — as did Roger Ebert, so don't judge me!) and not for drawing great performances from actors. (I've never seen Morgan Freeman so wooden and stilted.) And a director is hampered if the script isn't good to begin with. So Timur Bekmambetov had a lot against him from the beginning on this project.

However, viewed as a companion piece to the classic 1959 movie, this movie lends itself to interesting reflections on the nature of mercy, forgiveness, redemption, etc. Make no mistake, it does reflect modern cultural views in many ways. For example, one must ignore some of the namby pamby New-Agey Jesus statements made early on in the movie. And Messala's angsty attempts of "can't we just all get along?" are completely out of place. But it is worth seeing once for the gorgeous visuals and the way the story treats Ben-Hur and Messala's relationship.

Be warned. Worst sea battle ever. You can't tell what's going on. And Bekmambetov loves shooting night scenes in the actual dark. So at one point we thought we were watching Ben-Hur sneaking around in a garden at night to meet his wife. Turns out it was Judas getting ready to betray Jesus. Talk about confused!

1880 book

After watching one movie while simultaneously summarizing the other, I decided to reread the book because my memory of it is muddled by the various film versions. I'm enjoying it so far and surprised by some of the book facts that the movies changed. Actually, make that a lot of things that both movies changed. 1959 changed a lot of Ben-Hur's motivations and internal thoughts. And then 2016 changed the rest.

I read this story many years ago, long before I was Christian. Certainly it long before I picked up the fact that the author was a Civil War General ... which somehow just makes the book that much more interesting. I also recently was in a conversation in which I learned that Ben-Hur was the Harry Potter of its day. Since people couldn't afford to travel, this was a great way to combine exotic travelogue and an inspiring tale.

I most recently read it in 2015 when we discussed it on A Good Story is Hard to Find and don't remember it much at all. Which says something about how little this hit me at that time. Now, with both movies specifically in mind, I find myself liking it much more.

Well Said: Being one of the five thousand

How naturally a common meal serves for a symbol of fraternity; how easily a scratch party of guests get on together if you take them out for a picnic in the open air! Just imagine what it must have meant, later on, if one of those five thousand met, by accident, one of the others; what fellowship must have been imposed on them by their common store of reminiscences! "Yes, don't you remember, I was sitting about seven or eight off you, and Peter — or John, or James, or Judas — came round with the crust which looked as if it could never satisfy more than two; we both seemed to be in starvation corner, didn't we? And then when he got to the end of the row the crust was still there."

G. Chevrot, The Well of Life

via In Conversation with God, vol. 4

You know, it never occurred to me to think about any of the people for whom Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes, at least from the point of view of their lives later on. There were so many of them, in one case 5,000 and in another 4,000, and Israel was a small country. Maybe a lot of them were related. Of course, they would have bumped into each other later on.