Worth a Thousand Words: Doggy!

Doggy!, Karin Jurick

Well Said: Trouble

Trouble is so hard to bear, is it not?—How can we live and think that any one has trouble—piercing trouble—and we could help them, and never try?

George Eliot, Middlemarch

Listen Up — Wolf 359, Gone with the Wind

As I mentioned, I've been working on a big project lately. Luckily, it's the sort that lets me listen to podcasts and audiobooks while I work. Here are one of each that have been the backbone of my listening.

Wolf 359 is a radio drama in the tradition of Golden Age of Radio shows. Set on board the U.S.S. Hephaestus space station, the misfit crew deals with daily life-or-death emergencies, while searching for signs of alien life and discovering there might be more to their mission than they thought.

Early episodes begin as Communication Officer Matt Eiffel's audio diary, broadcast into space at large to break up his boredom. He's a slacker, but an entertaining one and we learn about the crew and life aboard an out-dated space station. Day-to-day activities are more wide ranging than you'd expect and the growing sense that something sinister is intended from the employers on Earth keeps things jumpy — especially as star Wolf 359 begins acting unpredictably.

I'm hooked on this and have been binge listening, only slowing down in the last week or two as the suspense began to get to me. I've been especially impressed with the way that the show can take you from loathing to liking ... and sometimes back to loathing ... particular characters with each new revelation of backstory.

Gone with the Wind was on my parents' bookshelves when I was growing up and, as happened with so many classics, at some point I picked it up and devoured the whole thing. I've probably read it three times during my lifetime, enjoying it more each time.

Having been written in 1930 by a Southerner, some of the characters have attitudes that were unpopular when I was growing up, much less during these cracklingly divisive times. And that includes the author who will break out in little asides occasionally for commentary about the South. That's when it turns into a look into the mind of those who lost the war. At least, that's what I remember. It must have been 20 years since I've read this.

No matter what, it remains a wonderful story. I had just finished listening to the audiobook of Kim and it immersed me me in an exotic place and mindset. I missed being in such a different world. Since I'd heard several people recently mention they were listening to Gone with the Wind, it somehow seemed like it might fill that gap. And it did. I'd forgotten how many details Mitchell put into her novel and every time I felt as if I couldn't stand Scarlett for one more second something would happen which would pull me back into the story.

I'm about halfway through since I'm taking it slowly but if you've never tried this book I encourage you to pick it up. If you have read it, you'll discover, as an acquaintance said recently, "Every time you read it you find something new there."

Worth a Thousand Words: Lion Resting

Lion Resting, Rembrandt
via Lines and Colors

Apologies for my absence!

So sorry I haven't been around much lately. It's my annual crazy time doing layout for the Worthington Direct catalog. 162 pages this year, my part takes about a month and a half with intensity increasing as we go. It will go to the printer the week after Thanksgiving so lately I've been working nights and weekends to make sure I'm keeping up my end.

I really enjoy the work but it does take its toll on available time and also memory! I meant to post this apology last weekend!

I'll be back to normal soon, hopefully getting us back to normal around here next week.

Thanks for your patience!

Well Said: Sun, Rain, and the Holy Spirit

Just as the sun shines and the day brings light, the stream irrigates the soil and rain waters the earth, so the heavenly Spirit pours himself into us.

St. Cyprian of Carthage

Worth a Thousand Words: Forest Wilderness

Forest Wilderness, J. E. H. MacDonald

Well Said: What do you want me to do for you?

Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?"

The blind man said to him, "Master, I want to see."

Mark 10:51

We all relate to the blind man. It's the common condition. Where am I blind? I want to see.

But take a second and look at Jesus' question. That is considerate and gracious. It is the question God asks us, even though we don't stop to think of it. He met us more than halfway by becoming human and dying for us. And here he is, "What do you want me to do for you?"

It's a question I ponder when I begin my morning prayer. Considering the asker makes me both shed the small stuff and yet also bring the small stuff to him. He's asking. He wants to know. What will we say?

Worth a Thousand Words: Outside the Embassy

Outside the kitchen entrance of the Russian Embassy in Berlin…
Edward B. Gordon

Lagniappe: The mention of ourselves being naturally affecting

"But you can't take your own time to die in, Brother," began Mrs. Waule, with her usual wooly tone. "And when you life speechless you may be tired of having strangers about you, and you may think of me and my children —" but here her voice broke under the touching thought which she was attributing to her speechless brother; the mention of ourselves being naturally affecting.

George Eliot, Middlemarch

Roasted cougar anyone? It's food-on-the-go for anyone stranded on a snowy mountain.

Unless you forget to take it along with you.

I watched The Mountain Between Us with Hannah and Rose and can attest they are telling the absolute truth about this bad movie in their More is More discussion.

Well Said: The speck of self

Instead of wondering at this result of misery in Mr. Casaubon, I think it quite ordinary. Will not a speck very close to our vision blot out the glory of the world, and leave only a margin by which we see the blot? I know no specks so troublesome as self.

George Eliot, Middlemarch

Thank you for the gift!

I've had my eye on this for some time.  I really love the whole Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture series so it is natural that this book would be on my Amazon wish list. Imagine my surprise and delight yesterday when I ripped open an unexpected package and found this!

Not only do I have the delight of a new Bible study but it is so thoughtful of the giver. Since the advent of Facebook and Twitter, any long time bloggers can tell you that comments have gone way down. It's not a big deal in and of itself, but it does make things different than they used to be. Lately I've gotten some wonderful feedback which is priceless in itself.

A tangible compliment like this is delightful on a lot of levels. My sincere thanks to whoever went to the trouble and expense to give me this gift!

Genesis Notes: The New Covenant is Fulfillment of the Old

We're at the end of the Genesis study and amidst all the stories there has been a clear thread for us to follow — God's covenant with us.

Watching from the beginning of creation to the establishment of God's family through covenant  has given me a much better understanding of how the old covenant was achieved in the first place ... which then leads to a better understanding of how the New Covenant completes the old.

First Day of Creation (from the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle)

The New Covenant in which we live is not a different covenant but a fulfillment of the Old. God still is a Father who makes and keeps promises and who is building His family by covenant. The New Covenant is all the promises of the Old, wrapped up in one and sealed by the sacrament of Christ's death and resurrection. In it God promises:

1. To restore creation: not just turn back the clock to Genesis 2 but to replace the old with new life, His own life, a life that is greater than anything we could have hoped for without the Fall.
2. To defeat Satan, the Serpent who started the whole problem in Eden;
3. To save us from sin, as He saved Noah from the wickedness of the world before the flood;
4. To give us not just a homeland on earth but an eternal home in heaven;
5. To make us not a powerful earthly kingdom but a kingdom of priests, a royal nation that will encompass the whole world and be a blessing to all nations.

Best of all -- these are not only promised, they are offered together with the power we need to keep our part of the covenant, which is to love God with all our hearts and love our neighbor as ourselves; to be holy as He is holy. Only the divine nature flowing through us can accomplish that.

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.

Ryan Gosling and Papyrus

From the SNL premiere comes a piece that could have been tailor-made for our household. Remember, we're the people who loved the documentary Helvetica.

Well Said: Religion, Prayer, and Bubbles of Protection

This quote has been coming to mind repeatedly as one violent act after another are committed upon innocents. I am emotionally reeling and the worst thing is that I last posted this quote in July 2017 for the same reason. However, it continues to give me much needed perspective. He is with us through everything.

Only bad religion promises that if you pray enough, give enough or serve enough, God will put a bubble of protection around you ... That’s what got virgins thrown into volcanoes and it’s what gets TV preachers rich. It’s still a lie, though, no matter how loudly or piously you say it.

What good religion teaches instead is that there is a Power at work in the world that is greater than the power of the world. It’s a power that renews and restores. It heals ... It gives life ...

George Mason, Lakewood Advocate

George Mason is the pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church which is only a few blocks away from my house.

We never miss reading his column in our area newspaper, The Lakewood Advocate. As Tom says, this man preaches to every Christian with his common sense, sensitivity, and understanding of living Christian faith. Believe me when I say that Tom doesn't bestow that praise lightly or often.

Click through and read the whole piece for a sample of why we like him so much.

Worth a Thousand Words: Windy Autumn

Windy Autumn, by Remo Savisaar

To Light a Fire on the Earth by Robert Barron and John L. Allen, Jr.

Secularism is gaining influence and increasing numbers of people see religion as dull and backward. Robert Barron wants to illuminate the beauty, intelligence, and relevance of the Catholic faith.

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.

I loved this book. It's a quick read that left me enthusiastic about spreading the faith and inspired in my own faith. In fact, within one day of beginning to read I was quoting it around the house and changing my own actions based on the inspirations. I expected to learn more about Barron's life and ministry but not that it would begin to change me.

That's the quick take. Here's the longer version.

I'm a fan of Bishop Barron's homilies and his Catholicism documentary series which was shown on PBS stations around the country. But what he's really known for, and where he got his social media start, is his YouTube videos where he talks about everything from baseball to movies to Catholic doctrine. This has drawn an audience ranging from faithful Catholics to angry atheists. So he's a pro at discussing the beauty and truth of Catholicism with a diverse crowd.

This book looks at both Barron's life and his philosophy behind "proclaiming the Gospel in a secular age." It is the result of twenty hours of interviews conducted by John L. Allen, Jr., who is an acclaimed Catholic author and journalist. I was really looking forward this book — and it lived up to my expectations. As you can see from my opening paragraph here.

Barron discusses leading people into a "space where they may be ready to hear and embrace those truths" by remembering that what you're trying to do is introduce them to friendship with Jesus. He talks about the fact that his enthusiasm is because he's trying to bring something positive into people's lives - that he's so on fire about the truth of Catholicism that he can't stop from sharing it because he wants everyone to have the goodness he experiences. He talks about finding the role God has designed for us in life, much as a character in a novel finds they are key to the plot even if they aren't a "main" character. And there is is love of Scripture, of how beauty shows truth, and much more.

All these things resonated with me and some of them were vivid reminders at times when I needed a pick me up or a good point in a discussion with a friend.

I think you'll find those things in here too. Highly recommended.

What do we do in the face of great evil?

Like everyone, I was shocked and distressed at the massacre at the church in Sunderland Springs. I can't get it out of my mind.

There have been so many killings lately it not only boggles the mind but leads to serious questions of the sort Job threw at God when he suffered disaster on every front. "What the heck, God? Are you there or what? Because I could use some explanations here." (Generously paraphrased.)

Like Job, we receive no clarifying answer because maybe God can see the causes of evil, but we can't. And we certainly have no control over it.  Jesus' death on the cross shows he understands our pain and bewilderment and suffering more than we know ... and that he can use it to bring about victory over evil.

But, that's hard to see from our human standpoint.

So what do we do?

We help directly if we can.

We remember that those victims were received by Jesus at the moment of their death. He has conquered death and they are his sheep. Their lives were cut cruelly short but they are now in the place we all hope to be in the end.

We pray, always. For the souls of the victims, for their families and friends in the midst of shock and grief, and even for human soul who did evil's work. (That last is a hard one, but necessary for my own soul. I don't know how God metes out justice but I know that I'd be terrible at it. So that prayer is necessary for me to be able to trust God with it.)

We live our own lives fully and with confidence in Christ and for Christ. Every ripple for good we make in our own bit of the world helps Jesus enter the world with healing, making lives whole again. And it helps defeat evil.

Saint Michael Archangel,
defend us in battle,
be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil;
may God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God, cast into hell
Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

Well Said: I have been bent and broken ...

Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but - I hope - into a better shape.”

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

No wonder I love him. He tells the truth. This isn't one we want to think about in our own lives, but when we've gotten done hearing Dickens tell it ... we understand that truth a little better.