Woman Reading

Fernand Toussaint, Woman Reading
via Gandalf's Gallery

The power of evil arises from our refusal to love God.

If we really wanted to summarize very briefly the content of the Faith as laid down in the Bible, we might do so by saying that the Lord has initiated a narrative of love with us and wants to subsume all creation in it. The counterforce against evil, which threatens us and the whole world, can ultimately only consist in our entering into this love. It is the real counterforce against evil. The power of evil arises from our refusal to love God. He who entrusts himself to the love of God is redeemed. Our being not redeemed is a consequence of our inability to love God. Learning to love God is therefore the path of human redemption.

Benedict XVI, The Church and the scandal of sexual abuse

Sharing Your Catholic Faith Story by Nancy Ward

“Each of us is an unrepeatable expression of God’s presence in the world, with a unique story.”

With those words echoing in her heart, Nancy Ward began thinking of conversion stories as an evangelization tool. The culmination is this book. The first part has tools and tips for sharing your own story in a way that isn't weird or stilted. That's we all worry about, right? I've shared my story a zillion times and yet always have that bit of uncertainty at the beginning of yet another time. Nancy shares her own story here as an example.

The second part has over thirty faith stories from all sorts of Catholics — converts, reverts, clergy, etc. — who tell how God got their attention and drew them close. My own story is in that section.

I haven't read the book yet, so this isn't a review, but it is a recommendation to check this book out. If you love a good conversion (or reversion) story ... and who doesn't ... and would like to know how to be able to talk about your own faith experiences more confidently, then this is for you.

Find it on Amazon Kindle or paperback.

Here's Nancy's blog: Joy Alive

From the Archives: Boxer Report

This was originally posted in October of 2009. I did it to update the girls, both of whom were living too, too far away.

Coming across it, looking for a boxer picture to post for Tom's birthday today (his favorite kind of photo), I enjoyed it so much that I'm rerunning it. Oh those double-Boxer days ...

How our baby has grown!

Baby Wash and almost year-old Zoe.
This is probably from late June? Maybe early July?

I think this is from about when you both left to go to school.
Maybe a bit earlier than that.

So in answer to questions about how big Wash has gotten ...

He is now taller than Zoe. Though you can't tell it from this photo.
They were "watching" the game yesterday with us.

And as you may recall, though this is an old photo,
they both are usually much more active.
That hasn't changed a bit, no matter what the age!

Nobody Walks Slower Than You

"Who did you pass on the road?" the King went on, holding out his hand to the Messenger for some more hay.

"Nobody," said the Messenger.

"Quite right," said the King: "this young lady saw him too. So of course Nobody walks slower than you."

"I do my best," the Messenger said in a sulky tone. "I'm sure nobody walks much faster than I do!"

"He can't do that," said the King, "or else he'd have been here first. ..."

Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There

Irises

Irises,Vincent van Gogh

You're not being obedient until ...

Some of us think we have to like what we're doing to be obedient. You're not being obedient until you do what you don't like to do.

Mother Angelica's Private and Pithy Lessons from the Scriptures

An easy way to help rebuild Notre Dame

The Catholic Company is supporting the restoration of the Notre Dame cathedral by donating 20% of their proceeds from select items to the Archdiocese of Paris.

Elk in Profile

Elk in Profile, Remo Savisaar

Roman Pilgrimage by George Weigel

There is a Lenten practice that I'd never heard of until reading this book. From Ash Wednesday through Divine Mercy Sunday, Catholics go to the Roman "station church" assigned for that day's Mass as a pilgrimage. Rome's got a lot of churches and this must be a lovely trip through history as well as a spiritual journey for those able to participate.

George Weigel uses this framework to provide a wonderful daily devotional for Lent, complete with photos and a page of information on each church. It is much more than a simple set of devotional reflections, however. The Mass readings and Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the hours are interwoven in an insightful commentary. Weigel doesn't stop there. He includes papal comments, saints' stories and quotes, and much more. I was taken on a Lenten journey which was rich in food for thought and meditation. Very highly recommended.

Note: as many other reviewers have noted, most of the photos are in black and white. Which is really dumb considering the churches are a key part of the book. I used my iPad for further church images.

Pigeons

Pigeons, José Ruiz Blasco (Pablo Picasso's father)

Kalank

"When someone else's loss seems like our victory, then there's no one in the world who's as lost as us."

Set in 1944 pre-partition Lahore. When a wife learns she is dying she asks a young woman to join the household to give her husband support after she's gone. The young woman not unreasonably insists on being married as a second wife so that she won't be cast off when the wife has died. (These being the days when you could have more than one wife.) This sets events into motion which will cause not just one but two love triangles to intersect. Intertwined with this is the story of general unrest over industrialization and possible partition.

Lush, well acted romantic piece set against the backdrop of pre-Partition unrest. In that sense, it made me think of Doctor Zhivago, which I've never seen but know the basics about.

Lavish sets, swirling fabric, and several large dance numbers with 500 performers made this a visual feast. The performances from everyone were wonderful, especially from Varun who I'd only seen as the younger brother in Dilwale (not my favorite movie specifically because of his subplot). Not to mention Madhuri Dixit's spectacular dance (she did have some other dancers swirling around her but it felt as if it were an amazing solo piece).

We were interested to see some of the conversations happening that argued different sides of the partition question. We've seen enough movies to show the results with Pakistan and India divided by barbed wire and steady hostility. But this early history was new to us and sent us to research the events of partition themselves.

The critics gave this so-so reviews overall. We didn't agree. Taken as love stories, taken as a look at people determined to control events (with results they never intended), taken as a movie-going experience - we liked it a lot. As did the six Indian teenage girls behind us at the theater who were sniffling and clapping as it ended.

Rating — for viewers with medium Indian film experience. (It's not rocket science, but without any cultural background at all you might feel kind of lost.)

Lucy Signals to Catwoman

Belinda Del Pesco, Lucy Signals to Catwoman

The Golden Shrub

Edward B. Gordon, The Golden Shrub

Notre Dame Burns - Updated

Just got back from running errands and Rose and Tom told me about the Notre Dame Cathedral burning. I've been there twice ... but am surprised at how upset I am. It's almost as if I were French ... or Catholic.

I think of how crowded it is around the cathedral and hope that the fire doesn't spread. Watching the spire fall hit me hard but at least it fell down and not out to cause more damage.

UPDATED

Le père Fournier, aumônier des @PompiersParis, est allé avec des pompiers
dans la cathédrale #NotreDame pour sauver la couronne d’épines et le Saint-Sacrement...

Translation:

Fr. Fournier, chaplain of the Paris Firefighters, went with the firefighters into Notre-Dame cathedral to save the crown of thorns and the Blessed Sacrament.

Etienne Loraillère, editor at France’s KTO Catholic Television,
via Catholic Herald

My hero! Thank you, Father Fournier!

Almond Blossom

Vincent van Gogh, Almond blossom

What the world needs ...

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

Howard Thurman

The Church and the Scandal of Sexual Abuse — Pope Emeritus Benedict

In his most significant pronouncement since he resigned the papacy in 2013, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has written a lengthy essay on clerical sex abuse in which he explains what he sees as the roots of the crisis, the effects it has had on the priesthood, and how the Church should best respond.

[...]

The essay is divided into three parts. The first is an examination of the “wider societal context” of the crisis, in which he says he tries to show that an “egregious event” occurred in the 1960s “on a scale unprecedented in history.”

A second section deals with the effects of this on the “formation of priests and on the lives of priests.”

And in a third part he develops “some perspectives for a proper response on the part of the Church.”

National Catholic Register

I feel as if this is old news already since it is all over mainstream media, but I wanted to give a heads-up for anyone who wanted to read sources instead of sound bites.

I read the National Catholic Register summary, which is quite thorough, and it made a lot of sense to me.

You can read the whole essay at the Catholic News Agency. I've not read the actual essay yet but have printed it out.

Just glancing through it, this looks like classic, thoughtful, thorough Benedict XVI ... and it makes me realize how much I've missed his writing. With a few zingers like this one which made me laugh out loud:

What must be done? Perhaps we should create another Church for things to work out? Well, that experiment has already been undertaken and has already failed.

(Thanks to Mark for pointing that one out to me.)

Blossoming Almond Branch in a Glass with a Book

Blossoming Almond Branch in a Glass with a Book, Vincent van Gogh

A Particular Love

It is hard to believe in this love. In a book by Hugh of St. Victor, which I read once on the way from St. Paul to Chicago, there is a conversation between the soul and God about this love. The soul is petulant and wants to know what kind of a love is that which loves everyone indiscriminately, the thief and the Samaritan, the wife and the mother and the harlot? The soul complains that it wishes a particular love, a love for herself alone. And God replies fondly that, after all, since no two people are like in this world, He has indeed a particular fondness for each one of us, an exclusive love to satisfy each one alone.

Dorothy Day, On Pilgrimage