City Lights Just After Sunset

Edward B. Gordon, City Lights Just After Sunset

Baptism - the true light that enlightens every man

Baptism is God's most beautiful and magnificent gift. . . .We call it gift, grace, anointing, enlightenment, garment of immortality, bath of rebirth, seal, and most precious gift. It is called gift because it is conferred on those who bring nothing of their own; grace since it is given even to the guilty; Baptism because sin is buried in the water; anointing for it is priestly and royal as are those who are anointed; enlightenment because it radiates light; clothing since it veils our shame; bath because it washes; and seal as it is our guard and the sign of God's Lordship.

St. Gregory Of Nazianzus

quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1243

This made me think of a baptism I attended a couple of weeks ago. The mother said afterwards that now she could relax because her child was safe. I didn't know people still thought that way and being raised a heathen, myself, my children were baptized well after infancy. I'm a godmother as well as a mother — I know how important baptism is but the quote above made me really feel it. It sank into me somehow.

Stree (2018)

In the small town of Chanderi, the menfolk live in fear of an evil spirit named "Stree" (Woman) who abducts men in the night during an annual festival. Everybody diligently makes sure the inscription O Stree, Come Tomorrow is written on their walls to keep the ghost away. Vicky falls in love with a mysterious girl, who is only seen during the annual festival season. Could she be Stree?

This is a comedy-horror film in the way that Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil was ... tongue-in-cheek humor while turning the conventional story on its head. It was super fun while being quite suspenseful in places. I was happy that this wasn't gory in the way an American movie would have been. It was interesting to see that there are ghost stories that originate in all parts of the world about brides whose lives were cut short.

And there must be a lot of cultural influence from Western horror films. That means you don't have to know Bollywood films to enjoy this as many of the tropes were the ones we all know .... like "don't split up - stay together!" Or as we were yelling at the screen, "Be like wolves, not lions!"

Plus, you know, a few songs and dances! Which is even better!

This was a sleeper hit last year and just hit Netflix recently.

Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

Tasty Dandelions

Remo Savisaar, Tasty Dandelions

Letter to a Suffering Church by Bishop Robert Barron

Preface

This book is a cri de coeur, a cry from the heart. I am a lifelong Catholic, and I've been a priest for thirty-three years and a bishop for four years. I have dedicated my life to the Church. The sexual abuse scandal has been for me, for millions of other Catholics, and especially for the victim-survivors, lacerating. I have written this book for my fellow Catholics who feel, understandably, demoralized, scandalized, angry beyond words, and ready to quit. What I finally urge my brothers and sisters in the Church to do is to stay and fight — and to do so on behalf of themselves and their families, but especially on behalf of those who have suffered so grievously at the hands of wicked men. Of course, I’m also happy if those outside the Church find some illumination in these chapters as well.

I want to be clear about something from the outset: I am not speaking in the name of my brother bishops, or of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, or of the Vatican. I have no authority whatsoever to do so. I am speaking in my own name, as a Catholic, a priest, and a bishop. My prayer is that these reflections might encourage Catholics who are attempting to navigate today in very choppy waters.

The Vatican, USCCB, and other bishops should be so lucky as to have Bishop Barron's book speaking for them. If they are wise they will embrace it and get copies into the hands of their congregations. Robert Barron gives not only a cry from the heart but perspective and counsel which both encourage and console.

This little book doesn't take long to read but it's packed with food for thought and gives historical and scriptural perspective. That may make it sound a bit detached or trite. Letter to a Suffering Church is anything but.

Barron condemns the wicked — it's been too long since I heard that word applied to the priests who violated the souls and bodies of their victims. He offers understanding and solace to those victims. He reminds us that the Church has been dragged through the dregs of corruption by the clergy before and of the fight it took to cleanse it.

Above all Barron offers inspiration and a fighting spirit as he encourages Catholics to stay and fight for the Church to be what Christ calls her to be — a pure source of Truth for a world crying out for God and love. Even though the world may laugh at that idea right now.

I'll be rereading this book for my own future inspiration moving forward. I strongly recommend it for all of you too.

This book is only a dollar a copy so it can become widely accessible, with all proceeds going to organizations that support sexual abuse victims. Order it here. Parish resources are here.

Well Said: Most People

From my quote journal.

In most cases, people, even wicked people, are far more naive and simple-hearted than one generally assumes. And so are we.

Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Bluebonnets

Bluebonnets, taken by Jason Merlo

Act of Spiritual Communion

I was vaguely aware of the idea of spiritual communion which is done when you can't make it to Mass or can't receive communion for some other reason. Many saints have recommended this, including St. John Paul II.

However, when I came across a discussion of the practice by St. Alphonsus de Liguori, it drew my attention. His prayer it touched me so greatly that I wanted to  share it, especially coming up to the Sunday of Corpus Christi.

There is no substitute for communion at Mass, of course, but this is a wonderful way to keep our desire for the Eucharist burning and alive the rest of the time.

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love you above all things: I desire to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace you, and I unite myself entirely to you, as if you had already come. Do not permit me to be ever separated from you.

Jesus, source of all my good, my sweet love, wound, inflame this heart of mine, that it may always burn for you.

Act of Spiritual Communion, St. Alphonsus de Liguori
via A Year With the Eucharist

The Annunciation

The Annunciation, John William Waterhouse

I don't think I've seen an Annunciation like this before, where Mary looks so taken off guard and interrupted in daily work outside.

Evil is a vacuum.

Three thousand years in Hell have made this much clear to me: evil is nothing. It's a vacuum. It's a space where something should have been but isn't. Cowardice is the absence of courage. Malice is the absence of love. Falsehood is the absence of truth. And so on. My point is this: the more attached you are to evil, the less you actually are. So I was only half-right when I said we weren't quite dead. The truth is, we weren't quite alive because we had filled our lives with emptiness.

J. Augustine Wetta, The Eighth Arrow

Cinematographe Lumière

The poster advertising the Lumière brothers cinematographe, showing a famous comedy (L'Arroseur Arrosé, 1895).

Monks in Space!

In physical life we might easily say, it’s a coincidence, monks just happen to be the best space-tool for the space-job. But this is a conversation about stories, too, and coincidence does not sit easily in a story’s stomach.

Space is the “final frontier.” It’s the unmapped territory, the uncomprehended edge, the giant question mark. Space contains mystery on mystery. Ask yourself where we came from, where we’re going, what happened in the immense gulf of before-time to bring us to this moment, and how our atoms will, over millions of years, decay—whether our culture will survive the next century or the next millennium—what life is and whether it has any destiny to speak of—the answer is out there in space. Or maybe what’s out there are only more questions—an endless sequence of questions curled up and hiding inside other questions, like the coiled-up higher spatial dimensions.

Max Gladstone mulls over why so much science fiction has monks in space. I enjoyed this a lot. You probably will too so go read it! Thanks to Mark for the heads up!

The Visit

The Visit, Abram Efimovich Arkhipov, 1915.
Via J.R.'s Art Place.

A Year With the Eucharist

I'm not too far along in this book but suddenly realized that Corpus Christi Sunday is coming. Naturally I wanted to give a heads up on this wonderful resource for drawing closer to the Eucharist.

I'm only on Day 9 but have found these daily meditations to be of inestimable value. They refocus and reconnect me with Jesus through the sacrament of the Eucharist - which I realize only makes sense to Catholics. But that's who this book is for, those who believe the Eucharist is the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. I especially like the brief prayer that ends each reading which makes me take a deeper moment than I might in just reading each meditation.

Each reading begins with a brief summary to orient the reader to the particular aspect of the Eucharist which will be commented upon. Then an excerpt from a saint, pope, poet, scripture, or other writings on the Eucharist takes us deeper into meditation and thought. This is followed by a question or two which help readers relate fully to what was just read. A brief prayer ends the session.

Tan Books has done this book proud, as with all those in the series. I have the e-book because buying a physical copy for a friend gave me a special unbelievably cheap deal. But this is really a book you want in physical form to hold in your hands. My daughter Rose has a copy and the cover may not be actual leather but it certainly feels like it. Pages are gilt-edged and the ribbon marker is sturdy. Moreover, the book design is elegant and decorative in an understated but classic way.

Das Schlossportal (The Castle Gate)

Ferdinand Knab, Das Schlossportal, 1881

Eternity with the Trinity. Boring?

At this point the question spontaneously arises, What will we do from this point on? Won't it be boring to spend all eternity with the same three Persons, even if they are divine? We could answer with another question: is it ever boring to enjoy feeling wonderful? People get bored of everything except "feeling wonderful," and eternity brings "infinite well-being." ...

... The best answer to the question "What will our life be like with the Trinity?" is found in a legend narrated by a modern German author. In a medieval monastery there were two monks, Rufus and Rufinus, who had a deep friendship. They spent all their free time trying to imagine and describe what eternal life would be like in the heavenly Jerusalem. Rufus was a builder, so he imagined it as a city with golden doors studded with precious stones; Rufinus was an organist, so he imagined it as full of heavenly melodies.

They ended up making a pact that whichever of them died first would return the following night to reassure the other that things were indeed as they had imagined. One word would do. If things were as they had imagined, he would simply say Taliter! ("Exactly!"). If things were different -- but this seemed completely impossible -- he would say, Aliter! ("Different!).

One night while he was playing the organ, Rufinus died of a heart attack. his friend stayed awake anxiously all night, but nothing. He kept vigil and fasted for weeks and months, but nothing. Finally on the anniversary of his death, Rufinus entered his friend's cell at night in a circle of light. Seeing that Rufinus was silent, Rufus -- sure of an affirmative answer -- asked his friend, "Taliter? That's right isn't it?" But his friend shook his head no. Desperate, Rufus cried out, "Aliter! Different?" Again his friend shook his friend no.

Finally his silent friend breathed forth only two words: "Totaliter aliter -- Completely different." Rufus understood in a flash that heaven was infinitely more than what they had imagined and could not be described. He also died shortly after because of his desire to go there. This story is a legend, but its content is nevertheless biblical:

No eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him.
(see 1 Corinthians 2:9)

Contemplating the Trinity: The Path to Abundant Christian Life by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa

Now that's something to think about, isn't it? Knowing that my vision is limited, nevertheless, I always have imagined Heaven as a divine library, which tells you where my passions lie (as if y'all didn't know that already).

Chameleon

Chameleon by Ustad Mansur, court painter to the Mughal Emperor, c. 1612.
Via J.R.'s Art Place.

The Trinity, Part III - The Understanding of Unity

Icon of the Old Testament Trinity, c. 1410, Andrei Rublev

The Eastern vision of the Trinity is above all, then, a call to unity. At first sight, this could appear to contrast with what we know of Greek and Latin theologies. It is well known that in discussions of the Trinity, the Greeks and Latins went in opposite directions: the Greeks began with the divine Persons, that is, from plurality, and proceeded to nature and thus to unity; the Latins, on the other hand, began with nature, or divine unity, and with the Greeks, plurality led to unity. In the Latin vision, this characterization is clearly confirmed by the fact that the treatment of divine unity in Western theology -- the De Deo uno ("concerning the oneness of God") -- precedes the treatment of divine plurality, the De Deo trino ("concerning the triune nature of God")...

The different visions of the Trinity are reflected in the way the church is seen in the East and in the West. This is worth emphasizing, because it can help reinforce the desire and necessity for full unity between them. For those in the East, the plurality of the churches is an assumption that is taken for granted. The problem, or challenge,is how to ensure an effective and efficacious unity undergirding the autonomy of the individual churches. It is just the opposite for the Catholic Church" unity is the strongest and most obvious assumption, guaranteed by the exercise of the primacy by Peter's successor. The problem, or challenge, is how to allow the required room for diversity, i.e., for the pluralism and autonomy of the local churches. In the East, pluralism is the departure point and unity is the goal; for the West, unity is the departure point and plurality is the goal. The same is true of their respective trinitarian doctrines: the pitfall for the Latins to avoid has always been Monarchianism, i.e., excessive insistence on unity; for the Greeks, on the contrary, it has been tritheism, i.e., excessive insistence on distinction. The call to unity for the two "sister" churches arises from the very profundity of the mystery that we both venerate. In a fully achieved unity, each church would conform and make the other whole, preserving both from the risk to which each is exposed.

Contemplating the Trinity: The Path to Abundant Christian Life by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa

Ernesta

Cecilia Beaux, Ernesta (also known as "Child with Nurse"), 1894
via Wikipedia

This little lady has a look of our goddaughter so I just couldn't resist.

The Trinity, Part II - Profound Peace and Unity

Icon of the Old Testament Trinity, c. 1410, Andrei Rublev

... all three are wearing blue garments as a sign of the divine nature they have in common. But on top of or underneath the blue garments, each one has a distincitive color: the Father, the angel to the left, has an indefinable color almost of pure light as a sign of his invisibility and inaccessibility. The Son, in the center, is wearing a dark tunic as a sign of the humanity with which he has clothed himself. The Holy Spirit, the angel to the right, wears a green mantle as a sign of life, since he is "the one who gives life." ...

One thing is especially striking as we contemplate Rublev's icon: the profound peace and unity that emanate from the whole. A silent cry comes forth from the icon: "Be one as we are one." The saint for whose monastery the icon was painted, St. Sergius of Radonezh, is known in Russian history for having brought unity among warring chieftains and for having thus made possible the liberation of Russia from the Tartars, who had invaded it. His motto was that "through the contemplation of the most Holy Trinity we can overcome the hateful divisions of this world."

Contemplating the Trinity: The Path to Abundant Christian Life by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa