Irises in Evening Shadows

Irises in Evening Shadows, Max Pechstein

Scott Danielson interviewed me about my new book!

Listen here at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast!

AND he just reviewed it, saying:

In "Thus Sayeth the Lord", Julie Davis has given us a book that makes the prophets accessible and personal. She helps us see the prophets as relevant and as living, breathing people in their time, each unique yet each called by God. I come away from this book feeling much closer to them than I did before, and with a new enthusiasm for the Old Testament as a whole.

Thank you, Scott!

The word is more real and more lasting than the entire material world

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will not pass away." (Mk 13:31) The word—which seems almost nothing in comparison to the mighty power of the immeasurable material cosmos, like a fleeting breath against the silent grandeur of the universe—the word is more real and more lasting than the entire material world. The word is the true, dependable reality, the solid ground on which we can stand, which holds firm even when the sun goes dark and the firmament disintegrates. ... [The] word of Jesus is the true firmament beneath which we can stand and remain.

Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth—Holy Week

The Lonely Pope

Edward B. Gordon, The Lonely Pope

The artist says:

This time at the moment gives us pictures that we will not forget for a very long time. Pope Francis praying in the rain on the deserted St. Peter’s Square in Rome.

Polish Godzilla Poster

Via J.R.'s Art Place

Gospel of Matthew: A Lamp in the Hand of God and Stained Glass

Matthew 5:15

Out of order again, but this is worth backing up for. At least I think so ...

In the Lord's saying, "when a lamp is lit, it is not put under the bushel basket...," the word for "lamp" used (Greek word) actually means "portable lamp," and this makes the saying all the more poignant. It makes us, in fact, to be a lamp in the hand of God, a light that must allow itself to be moved about by Christ as he sees fit. The house is not lit up all at once but according to the need of the moment: now the kitchen, now the dining room, now the study or the bedroom requires light. Because it is Christ who has kindled his light, the Christian will also allow his Lord to choose the particular lampstand where he will shine, and when.

[...]

It would be a great mistake, however, for us to look too avidly for the proofs of the effect of our presence in the world. Inevitably, we would lose heart, because in the end we lack the means of measuring and judging things as God sees them. Who knows the true meaning and import of what transpires in a human heart, our own or another's? How can we know whether a negative sign, such as sadness and conflict, is not in fact the middle phase of a process that will culminate in much good? Our real business is to allow God to shed his light through us, and, since the light belongs to him, he will know where to focus it and to what effect. Our endeavor should be to make ourselves transparent so as not to eclipse his brilliance.

Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word by Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis

The idea of being a lamp in Christ's hand doesn't get anywhere near the intimacy implied if we just think of a modern idea of a lamp. Reading Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Manners and Customs I was fascinated to see that lamps of the time were palm sized and would have shed light only where the person directed it. This is the lamp Christ would have been speaking of. Think of Him directing our light in the palm of his hand.

Reflecting upon this, I came across Thomas Merton's quote about transparency and God shining through.

Life is this simple: we are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and the divine is shining through it all the time. This is not just a nice story or a fable, it is true.

And at about this time I was slowly working my way through Lumen Fidei, Pope Francis' encyclical on the Light of Faith. This passage about the give and take of God's deeds and life stories shone a light on my own mind.

Israel’s confession of faith takes shape as an account of God’s deeds in setting his people free and acting as their guide (cf. Dt 26:5-11), an account passed down from one generation to the next. God’s light shines for Israel through the remembrance of the Lord’s mighty deeds, recalled and celebrated in worship, and passed down from parents to children. Here we see how the light of faith is linked to concrete life-stories, to the grateful remembrance of God’s mighty deeds and the progressive fulfilment of his promises. Gothic architecture gave clear expression to this: in the great cathedrals light comes down from heaven by passing through windows depicting the history of salvation. God’s light comes to us through the account of his self-revelation, and thus becomes capable of illuminating our passage through time by recalling his gifts and demonstrating how he fulfils his promises.

It all came together for me at that moment. Is it original? Unlikely. But it was a moment of blinding reality when I realized that my life is the stained glass window that God shines through to show others His existence, to show them some facet of His face that they need at that moment.

It was part of an opening of my own mind in answer to that question of our lives being lived in the light of God's will and of our own free will. How much is God and how much is us? The stained glass does not turn on the light which illuminates it to others, but it does paint a story that may inspire others in some way.

I can't express this well but the image shines often in my mind's eye. It is a guide for me as I make my way through the day, hoping that God will shine through the stained glass of my life in a way that others will see.

This series first ran in 2008. I'm refreshing it as I go.

H-E-B - Prepared to handle any emergency, including Covid-19

Craig Boyan: Starting in January, we’ve been in close contact with several retailers and suppliers around the world. As this has started to emerge, we’ve been in close contact with retailers in China, starting with what happened in Wuhan in the early couple of months, and what kind of lessons they learned. Over the last couple of months, [we’ve been] in close contact with some of our Italian retailers and suppliers, understanding how things have evolved in Italy and now in Spain, talking to those countries that are ahead of us in the curve. We’ve been in daily contact, understanding the pace and the change and the need for product, and how things have progressed in each of those countries.

Justen Noakes: We modeled what had been taking place in China from a transmission perspective, as well as impact. As the number of illnesses and the number of deaths were increasing, obviously the Chinese government was taking some steps to protect their citizens, so we basically mirrored what that might look like. We also took an approach to what we saw during H1N1 in 2009, and later got on top of it. Our example was if we were to get an outbreak, specifically in the Houston area, how would we manage that, and how would we respond with our current resources, as well as what resource opportunities would we have.

Texas Monthly

I've mentioned before how much I love the Central Market and their parent grocery H-E-B. This (free) story shows why. They were planning, they were ready, they are considerate of their employees. And they kept my store stocked. Outstanding.

Mother and Son

Mother and Son, Remo Savisaar

I've been seeing lots of photos of fledgling owls emerging from the nest on the North Central Texas Wildlife page on Facebook. Remo Savisaar is in Estonia so it must be the season everywhere.

Christopher Closeup interview about Thus Sayeth the Lord

I had the great pleasure of being interviewed by Tony Rossi of The Christopher Closeup.

Our interview will air this Sunday, March 29th, on Sirius-XM's The Catholic Channel (129) at 7:00am and 11:30am Eastern - and on Relevant Radio at 7:00am Eastern.


It will be released as a podcast during Holy Week.

The Church is Never Closed

Some of the initial statements I read from parishes and dioceses were all “WE’RE CLOSED.”

Which is not the message of the Gospel. We are not closed. We are never closed. Even if, God forbid, the physical church building has to be closed, the Church is not closed.

Amy Welborn

Day One - "Shelter at Home" in Dallas and the Grocery Store

Dallas County is now under a "shelter at home" order, which I suppose you could say is a gentle form of lockdown.

We'd already been planning on going to the store on Monday to avoid crowds. When they scheduled the order to begin on Tuesday, we thought we'd try to avoid what we thought might be big crowds on the last day before the order began. So instead we went on the first day of the stay at home order — this morning.

I'd heard from Hannah in line at the Central Market yesterday that entrance was being judiciously spaced out by the store so there was a line — but a fairly quick one. And that's what we experienced also. They made sure that everyone had a chance to get inside, get a freshly disinfected cart, and to disperse in the store before letting the next person in.

No one inside the store practiced the 6-foot rule in general, but no one was talking to each other and everyone did keep a "cone of distance" around them.

Everything was stocked and in select places like the butcher or deli counters there were green mats on the floor indicating six foot distances to maintain. And about 2/3 of us did it.

I have to say I felt a real gratitude for the friendly hospitality and thoughtfulness of how HEB (Central Market's owner) planned things out. You felt welcome, but it was clear they took everything seriously.

I took a picture of the social distancing in place at the checkout so Mom could see how it was. And I share it here with you!

Mapping the COVID-19 outbreak in the US

Remember USA Facts? The Nonpartisan government data site that uses easy to understand graphics to break down the facts as they are reported by government agencies?

Yeah. I'd kind of forgotten about them too. Until my husband told me about a fascinating map that breaks down the outbreak numbers by state ... and by county.

Here's the latest data.

Upcoming - Live Streaming Annunciation Mass and More

On Wednesday, St. Thomas Aquinas will live stream a Mass for the Feast of the Annunciation at 10:00 am.

And, of course it can be watched any time on the Facebook feed.

They have also decided to record weekday daily reflections. More on that later as it develops.

Pray the "Our Father" at noon on the Annunciation

Pope Francis has invited us “to invoke the Almighty, the omnipotent God, to recite at the same time the prayer that Jesus, our Lord, taught us” – the Our Father.

We're invited to join in this prayer at noon on the Annunciation, Wednesday, March 25.

Type Z and Not Freaking Out

At the same time, I want to say: if you're not freaking out right now, it's okay! This is a time that plays to the strengths of us Type-Z people in other ways than it plays to the strengths of the Type-A planners and organizers. The world, the neighborhood, the family needs people who can be cheerful, unafraid, easy-going, roll-with-the-punches. I'm not talking about risk-takers, but about having a balanced outlook even in unprecedented circumstances. We love our families, we take precautions, and then we know: what's going to happen is going to happen.

All shall be well, said Julian of Norwich, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well. May all manner of thing be well with you, my friends.

Mrs. Darwin, DarwinCatholic

We are type-A in our household and yet have managed to hold fairly well to the attitude Mrs. Darwin mentions above. In our case, a wide contrarian streak helps a lot.

Occasionally one of us has to stop and ask for a family member to talk us down from becoming anxious. And that works since big doses of common sense and contrariness are liberally and willingly applied by other household members.

We're as prepared as possible and we know "what's going to happen is going to happen."

The End of the Journey

Hugh Thomson, The End of the Journey
via Old Book Illustrations

An early positive comment on Thus Sayeth the Lord

We've been reading this out loud as a family and just finished the Deborah chapter. The kids love it, and everyone has been paying good attention and asking intelligent questions. Thanks for writing such a fun book on a complex topic!

Mrs. Darwin (from DarwinCatholic blog) commented after I announced the e-book is now for sale on Amazon.

I couldn't be more pleased. Will be very interested to hear how they handle Hosea, which I say right up front is not a family friendly prophet!

Pick up your e-book today! You might be surprised how the prophets can help you handle our hard times today!

Suffering and Deeper Realities

It is well to remember that so long as a soul has not suffered, it lives only on the surface; the deeper realities escape its grasp. In the mystery of Christ lie hidden depths of divine reality which only those can reach and penetrate who, like Christ, have each in his own way been crucified. Authentic holiness is always consummated on a cross.

Father M.M. Philipon, O.P.

Louise Hollandine of the Palatinate

Louise Hollandine of the Palatinate, self portrait

I picked this up from J.R.'s Art Place where he had the following information, which is fascinating. For myself, I simply love that hat!

Louise Hollandine of the Palatinate was the daughter of Frederick V of the Palatinate and King of Bohemia, and Elizabeth Stuart. Raised in a Protestant household in the Netherlands, she showed great artistic talent. Her family arranged for her to study under one of the greatest artists of the time, Gerard van Honthorst.

The painting shown here is a self-portrait by her circa 1650. It was in 1657 that she, for unknown reasons, fled the Netherlands with the aid of her aunt Henrietta Marie de Bourbon, the widow of Charles I of England. In France she converted to Roman Catholicism and entered the Cistercian Abbey of Maubuisson. In retaliation, she was left out of her mother's will.

In 1664 she became Abbess of Maubuisson. She continued painting after entering the Abbey, mostly of religious subjects.

Shah Rukh Khan on the war against coronavirus

Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan does a coronavirus public service announcement using scenes from his movies.

I'm very proud to say that I recognized a lot of the scenes — yes, I'm a SRK fan. I don't know if people who don't know his movies will find this as amusing as we did.

Though no matter who you are, I'm sure you agree that the hat and sunglasses are tragic. Just ignore them.



For those who don't know, here's how SRK really looks. Now you can see what I meant about the hat and glasses.

Chef Yia Medina on Lessons Learned From Hurricanes, Earthquakes and Cleaned-Out Grocery Stores

I found this story inspiring especially since I haven't been through the disasters that Yia Medina has.