Well Said: St. Francis and converting Christians

It is an old story that, while we may need somebody like Dominic to convert the heathen to Christianity, we are in even greater need of somebody like Francis, to convert the Christians to Christianity.

G.K. Chesterton, The Dumb Ox

Genesis Notes: A Few Facts About Egypt

GENESIS 39
I found this information about Egypt in Joseph's time interesting.

Workers plowing, harvesting crops, and threshing grain under the direction of an overseer,
painting in the tomb of Nakht.

WHEN DID JOSEPH ARRIVE?
The date of Joseph's arrival in Egypt is debatable. Many believe he arrived during the period of the Hysksos rulers, foreigners who came from the region of Canaan. They invaded Egypt and controlled the land for almost 150 years. If Joseph arrived during their rule, it is easy to see why he was rapidly promoted up the royal ladder. Because the Hysksos were foreigners themselves, they would not hold this brilliant young foreigner's ancestry against him.

PHARAOH
Pharaoh was the general name for all the kings of Egypt. It was a title like "King" or "President" used to address the country's leader. The Pharaohs in Genesis and Exodus were different men.

THE GOOD LIFE IN EGYPT
Ancient Egypt was a land of great contrasts. People were either rich beyond measure or poverty stricken. There wasn't much middle ground. Joseph found himself serving Potiphar, an extremely rich officer in Pharaoh's service. Rich families like Potiphar's had elaborate homes two or three stories tall with beautiful gardens and balconies. They enjoyed live entertainment at home as they chose delicious fruit from expensive bowls. They surrounded themselves with alabaster vases, paintings, beautiful rugs, and hand-carved chair. Dinner was served on golden tableware, and the rooms were lighted with gold lampstands. Servants, like Joseph, worked on the first floor, while the family occupied the upper stories.

All quotes from Life Application Study Bible. 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.

Worth a Thousand Words: Good Company

Good Company, taken by Remo Savisaar

SFFaudio - The Uninvited

We ain't afraid of no ghosts. Or are we? Jesse, Maissa, and Julie talk about The Uninvited at SFFaudio, episode 441.

(Get the audiobook here, my recording of The Uninvited originally done for Forgotten Classics.)

Worth a Thousand Words: Ludgate, Evening

John O'Connor, Ludgate, Evening, 1887
via Lines and Colors

Well Said: What we get to worship

In the day to day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.

David Foster Wallace

Prayers for Victims in Las Vegas

I don't really keep up with current news and everyone in the household knows it. So when someone carefully says, "I don't know if you've heard the current news ..." then I know they are preparing me for something horrific. This morning was another such moment.

After hearing about the carnage in Las Vegas, once again I am left shocked and thinking, "what is wrong with the world?"

I am inadequate to come up with a prayer but The Anchoress has helped out there. The city's patrons are the Holy Family, St. Peter, and St. Paul, which is why they are included in her prayer.

Together, let us pray:

O Lord, by whose design the sands of our lives run fast or slow,
be with us in this time of terror;
send your Holy Spirit to help us grow in wisdom
in the face of such a senseless act.

Holy Family — Jesus, Mary and Joseph — be the consolation of families impacted
by this violence and mayhem.
Saints Peter and Paul, patrons of the city,
Saint Michael the Archangel, patron of First Responders, pray for Las Vegas.

Kyrie Eleison
Christe Eleison
Kyrie Eleison

For the sake of Christ’s sorrowful passion, have mercy on us, and on the whole world.

Amen.

Well Said: What you need to achieve great things

To achieve great things two things are needed. A plan and not quite enough time.

Leonard Bernstein

Listen Up: More is More

Hannah spends her days looking at trees and Rose spends her days looking at computer screen but they both spend their nights watching bad movies. They can commonly be found in yarn shops, hanging off silks, and in fancy grocery stores but their natural habitat is the dollar movie theater.

We've got a long history of enjoying discussing bad movies, especially when Hannah and Rose are doing the talking. They are both funny and insightful, and I don't just say that as their mother. And they love bad movies enough to specifically go to see them at the theater.

Now everyone can enjoy that hilarious insight on their new podcast, More is More. Hannah and Rose take you through their favorite bad movies in enough detail that you don't have to have seen it yourself (for which I am truly grateful). They also discuss story elements that went wrong and why.

Episode 1 is The Scorpion King featuring everyone's favorite, The Rock, in a movie that even his charm can't salvage. Try them out! (website, iTunes)

"Don't let them tell you less is more. More is more."

Stephen Sommers

Worth a Thousand Words: A_Thousand_Li_of_River

Panorama of a section of A Thousand Li of Mountains and Rivers, a 12th-century painting by Song dynasty artist Wang Ximeng

Click through to see the image bigger.

Worth a Thousand Words: Chinese Guardian Lion

A statue of a guardian lion looking over Mount Emei, China
Chris Feser

Well Said: Grant's brand of whiskey

You just tell me the brand of whiskey Grant drinks — I would like to send a barrel of it to my other generals.

Abraham Lincoln

Catholic Books I'm Looking Forward To: Robert Barron, Mike Aquilina, Marc Barnes, Brandon Vogt

Fall is new book publishing time and these beauties are almost ready to dive into. I've had them on my wish list for a while so I thought you might be interested too!

As secularism gains influence, and increasing numbers see religion as dull and backward, Robert Barron wants to illuminate how beautiful, intelligent, and relevant the Catholic faith is.

In this compelling new book—written in conversation with award-winning Vatican journalist John L. Allen, Jr.—Barron proclaims in vivid language the goodness and truth of the Catholic tradition.

Touching on everything from Jesus to prayer, science, movies, atheism, the spiritual life, the fate of Church in modern times, beauty, art, and social media, Barron reveals why the Church matters today and how Catholics can intelligently engage a skeptical world.

You can hear John Allen and Bishop Barron discuss the upcoming book on this Word on Fire podcast episode. I was particularly intrigued by what Allen says about WOF as an apostolate. I really loved Allen's book with Timothy Dolan and this promises to be just as good. Can't wait to read this one!

The history of the Church didn't take place shrouded in the mists of time. It actually happened and continues to happen through things that we can see and sometimes hold in our hand.

The Christian answer to Neil MacGregor's New York Times bestseller A History of the World in 100 Objects, Mike and Grace Aquilina's A History of the Church in 100 Objects introduces you to:

• The Cave of the Nativity (the importance of history, memory, and all things tangible)
• Catacomb niches (the importance of Rome, bones, and relics of the faith)
• Ancient Map of the World (the undoing of myths about medieval science)
• Stained Glass (representative of Gothic cathedrals)
• The Holy Grail (Romance literature and the emergence of writing for the laity)
• Loaves and fish (a link from Jesus to the sacrament of the Eucharist)
• The Wittenberg Door (Martin Luther and the onset of the Reformation)

I've mentioned this one before but wanted to bring it up since it is coming out fairly soon. So, Mike Aquilina - it's a given I'll love it. I'm looking forward to reading his collaboration with his daughter as well as an insightful look at those 100 objects.

Marc Barnes first cared about being Catholic, "not out of any profound love for the person of Christ, but out of a profound distaste for my other options." After exploring the options of the secular world, Barnes came to the conclusion that even the secular world isn't secular enough. In fact, it is hopelessly Christian.

Through these essays Barnes exposes the hopelessly Catholic nature of our fallen world, and the joyous news that, even for the bad Catholic or the non-Catholic, there is nowhere to hide from the Truth. The beauty of Christ's love can be found even in the most secular of circumstances.

I've liked Marc Barnes' Bad Catholic blog for a long time, so this one is a no-brainer. Agree or disagree, you'll usually wind up laughing and nodding and ... thinking. And all of those are good things, so of course I'm eagerly anticipating this one!

With atheism on the rise and millions tossing off religion, why would anyone consider the Catholic Church? Brandon Vogt shares his passionate search for truth, a journey that culminated in the realization that Catholicism was right about a lot of things, maybe even everything.

Why I Am Catholic traces Vogt’s spiritual journey, making a refreshing, twenty-first century case for the faith and answering questions being asked by agnostics, nones, and atheists. With references to Catholic thinkers such as G. K. Chesterton, Ven. Fulton Sheen, St. Teresa of Calcutta, and Bishop Robert Barron, Vogt draws together lines of evidence to help seekers discover why they should be Catholic as an alternative.

I'm a fan of Brandon Vogt's (see my review for his book Saints and Social Justice). His passion for the faith has led him to discuss it in a lot of places and he's now the content manager at Word on Fire, Bishop Barron's ministry. I have been looking forward to reading his spiritual journey from "none" to Catholicism ever since I heard about this book.

Genesis Notes: Dealing With Temptation

GENESIS 39
We could never have a better model for dealing with temptation than looking at how Joseph dealt with Potiphar's wife who would just not take no for an answer.

Joseph and Potiphar's Wife, Jean-Baptiste Nattier

Joseph provides a true model of strength in the face of temptation, which recognizes the danger of remaining in its presence. "Shun immorality!" Paul says in I Cor. 6:18. Other translators prefer the word "flee." Joseph did both: he refused Potiphar's wife, shunning her suggestions, and then fled when she didn't listen. It is not cowardice to run from such temptation, it is common sense. Sexual immorality may entice but its ultimate end is death. St. Paul speaks elsewhere (see, for example, I Cor. 10:13 and Heb. 4:15-16) of the mercy and grace that God provides to help us endure and escape temptation, and says that God will not allow us to be tempted above our strength. What was Joseph's secret? Vs. 21 says it all: "But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison."

Genesis II: God and His Family

Thinking of Joseph and temptation is an obvious theme for this story. What is not so obvious is thinking of how Potiphar reacted to his wife's accusation of Joseph's attempted rape. Leave it to C.S. Lewis to examine the story more deeply for what it shows us about everyone involved.

Reflection on the story raised in my mind a problem I never happened to have thought of before: why was Joseph imprisoned, and not killed, by Potiphar? Surely it seems extraordinarily mild treatment for attempted rape of a great lady by a slave? Or must one assume that Potiphar, tho' ignorant of the lady's intention to make him a cuckold, was aware in general ... that her stories about the servante were to be taken with a grain of salt—that his real view was "I don't suppose for a moment that Joseph did anything of the sort, but I foresee there'll be no peace till I get him out of the house?" One is tempted to begin to imagine the whole life of the Potiphar family: e.g. how often had he heard similar stories from her before?

C.S. Lewis from a letter to his brother, February 25, 1940

via The C.S. Lewis Bible

Scripture is so rich. Reading the stories again and again leaves us the leisure, if we want to put it that way, to see just how much is in there for us.

Do You Like Pumpkin Pie? Then You Need This Ice Cream.

Fresh H-E-B milk, real dairy cream, Pumpkin, nutmeg and spices combine to create this exceptional holiday delight.

This is how brave we are. We tried it, even figuring that real pumpkin would make it pretty heavy and weirdly chewy for ice cream. Nope. It's silky, creamy, delicious and captures the essence of pumpkin pie.

Well Said: He'd never met The People

Vimes had spent his life on the streets, and had met decent men and fools and people who'd steal a penny from a blind beggar and people who performed silent miracles or desperate crimes every day behind the grubby windows of little houses, but he'd never met The People.

People on the side of The People always ended up disappointed, in any case. They found that The People tended not to be grateful or appreciative or forward-thinking or obedient. The People tended to be small-minded and conservative and not very clever and were even distrustful of cleverness. And so the children of the revolution were faced with the age-old problem: it wasn't that you had the wrong kind of government, which was obvious, but that you had the wrong kind of people.

As soon as you saw people as things to be measured, they didn't measure up.

Terry Pratchett, Night Watch

I hear a lot of talk, especially these days, about action on behalf of "The People" of various labels without remembering what Pratchett reminds us of above.

Worth a Thousand Words: Windy evening at the coast

Windy evening at the coast, taken by Remo Savisaar

I can almost feel the sand between my toes and the wind blowing hard. Click through on the link to see this larger and take in the full beauty.

Well Said: Do you know how to live?

You want to live — but do you know how to live? You are scared of dying — and, tell me, is the kind of life you lead really any different from being dead?

Seneca, Letters from a Stoic

Seneca lived in first century Rome but these words echo loudly through the modern mindset and lifestyle. They make me think of a much later quote from a very different person. The sentiment is the same though.

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.

Oscar Wilde

Listen Up: BirdNote, Classic Tales, Jaws of Life, Rachel Watches Star Trek

Hannah recently began listening to podcasts and was asking for recommendations. Oh, I have so many!

My own Forgotten Classics podcast is on hiatus now but I tried to always have a new podcast suggestion to give in each episode. (Check the sidebar there for a wide range of suggestions.) Sharing new podcasts is the one thing I miss at the moment. So I'm going to drop a few here occasionally, ranging from old favorites to new discoveries.

You can find all of these at iTunes but most have more info at their websites so that's where the links go.

BirdNote is one of those shows that is a bite-sized nugget of information, about 2 minutes long. It airs every day, featuring fascinating information complete with bird calls and a great photo of that day's subject.

Recent entries included how an Emperor Penguin launches out of the water to get back to shore, the tiniest hummingbird (not much bigger than a bee), how the Jaeger pursues gulls to steal their fish mid-air, and a week-long series about migration (since it is that time of year).

It's a brief investment of time but always entertaining and I never miss it.

I'm not sure how long the Classic Tales Podcast has been running but I've been listening ever since I discovered podcasts (and that was many, many years ago, y'all). No one can beat B.J. Harrison's narrative style and I can't beat his podcast description so here you go:

Every week, join award-winning narrator B.J. Harrison as he narrates the greatest stories the world has ever known. From the jungles of South America to the Mississippi Delta, from Victorian England to the sands of the Arabian desert, join us on a fantastic journey through the words of the world's greatest authors. Critically-acclaimed and highly recommended for anyone who loves a good story with plenty of substance.

It's weekly and ranges in length from half an hour to an hour long. Another one I never miss each week.

Jaws of Life is fairly new but I've been enjoying it since the first episode. Two Catholic guys discuss different aspects of modern life in the light of the faith. It's weekly and about half an hour long.

Tim and Rob apply the jaws of life to release truth from the mangled mess of modernity. In each episode we bring light and levity to our encounter with the modern world, helping to bring the contagious joy of a holy life to a world so desperately in need of our witness.

Topics so far have included: Snuffing Out Hope: The Science of Grumbling, Bored at Mass, Fighting for Entertainment, Falling in Love with Vatican II, Recreation in a Culture of Comfort, and Funny Business: The Seriousness of Faith. I've listened to all of them except the one about fighting, which was distinctly more of a guy topic. I look forward to it every week.

Rachel Watches Star Trek is a new favorite of mine.

Chris loves Star Trek. Rachel has never watched it. Until now.

This is a podcast where Rachel and Chris talk about each episode of the original Star Trek Series, from the original pilot, getting her outsider’s perspective on one of the most influential Sci-fi shows of all time.

Rachel and Chris Lackey are pure fun to listen to whether you care about Star Trek or not. They cover an episode at a time and Rachel's comments are often hilarious, coming, as they do, from a perspective that is decades after the show aired.  They also often branch out into interesting conversation I wouldn't have expected, such as musing about leadership qualities after watching The Enemy Within.

Episodes are about half an hour long and come out once a month at best. So it isn't hard to catch up, even if you don't binge-listen the way I did.

Worth a Thousand Words: Suit Yourself

Suit Yourself, Karin Jurick

Karin Jurick's museum paintings are some of the most popular I share and I'm always so glad that she graciously gave me permission long ago to do so. She usually gives some background and context for the original being viewed or her own overall painting. Click through the link for more.