Your word is like a garden, Lord

Your Word is like a garden, Lord,
with flowers bright and fair;
and everyone who seeks may pluck
a lovely cluster there.
Your Word is like a deep, deep mine;
and jewels rich and rare
are hidden in its mighty depths
for every searcher there.

Your Word is like a starry host;
a thousand rays of light
are seen to guide the traveler,
and make his pathway bright.
Your Word is like an armory,
where soldiers may repair,
and find, for life’s long battle day,
all needful weapons there.

O may I love your precious Word,
may I explore the mine,
may I its fragrant flowers glean,
may light upon me shine.
O may I find my armor there,
your Word my trusty sword;
I’ll learn to fight with every foe
the battle of the Lord.

Edwin Hodder

I can't remember now where I found this to copy into my quote journal. It's a bit sentimental but I lean toward that with these old hymns. I don't even know the tune. I just know that I love the imagery.

Life becomes literature ...

In the end, life becomes literature,and literature has meaning because life has meaning. ...

The world has told us that all our truths are merely stories, but this man who walks with us on the road to Emmaus, he told us that all our stories are really truths — truths in human form, which is the form of beauty, which is the form divine, which is his form, the form of the Word made flesh.

Andrew Klavan, The Truth and Beauty

Amen to that!

Worth a Thousand Words: Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Jupiter's Great Red Spot, NASA

(March 1, 1979) As Voyager 1 flew by Jupiter, it captured this photo of the Great Red Spot. The Great Red Spot is an anti-cyclonic (high- pressure) storm on Jupiter that can be likened to the worst hurricanes on Earth. An ancient storm, it is so large that three Earths could fit inside it. This photo, and others of Jupiter, allowed scientists to see different colors in clouds around the Great Red Spot which imply that the clouds swirl around the spot (going counter-clockwise) at varying altitudes. The Great Red Spot had been observed from Earth for hundreds of years, yet never before with this clarity and closeness (objects as small as six hundred kilometers can be seen).

A Movie You Might Have Missed #65: The Interrupters

It's been 11 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

Every City Needs Its Heroes

The Interrupters tells the moving and surprising stories of three Violence Interrupters who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they themselves once employed. Shot over the course of a year, The Interrupters captures a period in Chicago when it became a national symbol for the violence in our cities.

It's funny, when I was watching this it seemed like a long two hours. But since it finished we haven't stopped talking about it. I realized that it needed to move at a fairly slow pace so that we understood all the nuances of the lives of the people living in an atmosphere of continual violence ... and the work of the people who interrupt, slow down conflicts long enough to help more of them come out the other end alive.

Powerful and, as I realized by my joy in seeing some people doing well in the Epilogue, moving.

Baseball Players Practicing

"Baseball Players Practicing, 1875, Thomas Eakins.
Courtesy of the Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art.
Via Wikipedia

There are some modern teams who have old-fashioned uniforms. I always wondered why they didn't look more "authentic" until I saw this and realized the new ones are tighter, don't have big belts, and ... most important of all ... the players don't have handlebar mustaches!

Lent and Easter, Life Now and in Heaven

Because there are these two periods of time — the one that is now is, beset with the trials and troubles of this life, and the other yet to come, a life of everlasting serenity and joy — we are given two liturgical seasons, one before Easter and the other after. The season before Easter signifies the troubles in which we live here and now, while the time after Easter which we are celebrating at present signifies the happiness that will be ours in the future. What we commemorate before Easter is what we experience in this life; what we celebrate after Easter points to something we do not yet possess. That is why we keep the first season with fasting and prayer; but now the fast is over and we devote the present season to praise. Such is the meaning of the Alleluia we sing.

St. Augustine, a discourse on the psalms

Easter is over although we have a few more joyous special celebrations coming — Corpus Christi Sunday, The Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary. These are the moments to remember what Augustine says above, that our celebration is just a foretaste of what awaits us after this life.

Two Laughing Girls

Two Laughing Girls, Pere Borrell del Caso

 These girls are just adorable. The icing on the cake is trompe l'oeil which fools your eye into thinking that the subject is breaking out of the painting into the real world. 

In this case, the girl in front seems to be leaning out of the frame while the girl behind her is pointing with her hand out of the frame. It is a delight.

The Gulf of Trieste

The Gulf of Trieste by Pietro Fragiacomo, c. early 1900s.

Confession — opening to grace

Let those who perform works of penance learn from the words of the prophet with what dispositions they must do so, with what zeal, with what spirit, with what purpose, with what inward compunction they must do so, with what zeal, with what spirit with what purpose, with what inward compunction, with what change of heart: "Look, Yahweh, I am in distress! My inmost being is in ferment; my heart turns over inside me.

So too did the people of Nineveh mourn, and they were spared the destruction of their city (see Jonah 3); so great is the remedial efficacy of penance, that God seems to change his decree because of it. It is, therefore, withing your power also to escape his punishment. He wants only that you place your hope in him, he wants only that you appeal to his mercy. If you ... are unwilling to grant pardon to your neighbor unless hea sks for it, do you think that, without your asking for forgiveness, God will forgive you?

Let us then mourn for a time, that we may rejoice for eternity. Let us fear the Lord; let us prepare to meet him, confessing our sins; let us correct our failings and make amends for our transgressions, lest of us too it should be said: "The faithful have vanished from the land: there is no one honest left" (Mi 7:2)

Why do you fear to confess your sins to the Lord who is so good? "Confess your sins," He bids you, "so that you may be justified." The grace of justification is offered you, while you are still guilty of sin; for he is justified who voluntarily confesses that he has sinned. ... The Lord knows all things, but he waits for your confession, not in order to punish but in order to forgive.

St. Ambrose,
via The New Jerusalem Bible (Saints Devotional Edition)

Saint Ambrose here is considering the words of Micah 7:18, "What god can compare with you for pardoning guilt and for overlooking crime? He does not harbor anger for ever, since he delights in showing faithful love." 

Micah, of course, is speaking to the Lord God, praising his lover and forgiveness. When we mourn our shortfalls, these are heartening, inspiring words, especially if we've fallen away from a close relationship with God. This is the time to bare one's soul and come back into a loving relationship who is like the father from the parable of the prodigal son — just waiting with open arms for us to come home.

Events of the past find their spiritual fulfillment in your journey today

The ark of the covenant led the people of God across the Jordan. The priests and the Levites halted, and the waters, as though out of reverence to the ministers of God, stopped flowing. They piled up in a single mass, thus allowing the people of God to cross in safety. ...

You must not think that these events belong only to the past, and that you who now hear the account of them do not experience anything of the kind. It is in you that they all find their spiritual fulfillment. You have recently abandoned the darkness of idolatry, and you now desire to come and hear the divine law. This is your departure from Egypt. When you became a catechumen and began to obey the laws of the Church, you passed through the Red Sea; now at the various stops in the desert, you give time every day to hear the law of God and to see the face of Moses unveiled by the glory of God. But once you come to the baptismal font ... then, through the ministry of the priests, you will cross the Jordan and enter the promised land. There Moses will hand you over to Jesus, and He himself will be your guide on your new journey.

Origen, priest, homily on Joshua

This is such a great connection of our spiritual lives with the actual events of the past. All are connected in salvation history to lead us to Jesus.

In the Evening

In the Evening, Edward B. Gordon
The colors of the setting sun reflected in one of the many canals in Berlin.

‘The place where God would be’ - After prenatal diagnosis, parents find support in Catholic ministry

“I was alone and sitting with the medical team,” Jane told The Pillar.

“They confirmed that baby Emmi had anencephaly and said that she would not survive after birth - if she even made it that far.”

“It was as if a part of me had died right then and there,” she said. “The rest of that day, needless to say, was full of crying and weeping. It was the most painful thing my heart had ever felt. I fell asleep crying that evening.”

But in that painful experience, Jane says also encountered God’s love, in part through the support she received from Be Not Afraid, a Catholic non-profit organization supporting parents whose child has received a prenatal diagnosis.

Jane’s doctor offered her a list of resources that included Be Not Afraid (BNA). She connected with the organization, which helped her family “navigate a lot of those decisions we would have to make.”

Members of Be Not Afraid (BNA) offered Jane’s family resources, education, and even gifts unique to their situation.

“They were truly a God-send, showing us that we were not alone.”

Here's a fascinating and inspiring article from The Pillar about a unique ministry that offers grief ministry for parents whose unborn child has been diagnosed with a fatal illness. It's an indepth piece which made me wish there was such a ministry in Dallas. 

Here's a bit more and then go read the whole thing.

Medical professionals who are not Catholic or even pro-life have responded positively to the work of BNA, she said, because they see the positive effect the ministry has on parents as they navigate a very challenging and painful situation.

“We have had doctors who come out of the delivery room and cry and say that the birth plan was amazing.”

In some cases, medical professionals think carrying a baby to term will lead to a horrible event, she continued. These professionals encounter the option of a person choosing “to love their baby enough to give them time, or love their baby [enough] to accept their baby with a disability, however long that baby’s life will be.”

“We introduce them to sacrificial love.”

Tawny Owl

Tawny Owl, Remo Savisaar

The School of Athens

The School of Athens, Raphael

 Here's a little something to go along with the commentary about choosing our teachers wisely.

The importance of the teacher as model

First, Jesus stresses the importance of the role of a teacher as model. With few exceptions, students do not surpass their teacher in knowledge and virtue. Therefore, if the teacher is vicious to begin with, there is little hope for the followers. This outght to be instructive for those of us in Western culture where we often follow the principles taught by famous teachers (Spinoza, Darwin, Freud, Descartes, Machiavelli, Rousseau, Marx, etc.) who were perverse and ignoble in their personal lives. How can we expect society as a whole to be elevated by the doctrines of men who themselves were so unsuccessful as human beings?

John Bergsma, Word of the Lord Year C,
commenting on Luke 6:39-45

John Bergsma is commenting on Luke 6:39-45 when Jesus says, "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit." I think we're seeing the fruit of the teachers that Bergsma mentions. We're confused, have the wrong goals, and can't see the solid ground beneath our feet.

Psalm 33 — The Sovereignty of God

When you are gathered together with people who are righteous and upright of life, wing with them Psalm 33.

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms

I love the way this psalm begins, telling everyone to to rejoice, sing, and play instruments. One translation says "shout for joy." Another says "skillfully play with joyful chant." Anyway you look at it, this makes me think of a loud, joyful procession of call and response, of everyone joining in as loudly as they can. Again, I think of the joyful celebrations of song and dance from my beloved Indian movies.

This psalm of praise is about much more than God's reflection in creation, but I was really struck by verse 6 (NIV):

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

I'll never forget the many times I have looked up at the night sky and been reduced to tears by the beauty, grandeur, and mystery of the stars overhead. That's hard to do when you live in a big city like I do, but I remember the last time I was at my sister's house in Florida. They live in a spot where you can get complete darkness despite the houses around them and a casual glance at the sky left me rooted to the spot for a long time. My heart was so full of joy at God's goodness to his. After all, He made the world beautiful because he loves us. When I think of the power, creativity, and intelligence it took for that creation, I am overawed. 

That brings me back to the rest of the psalm. If God can do that, can't we trust him to keep his word? The psalmist considers God's character and his interactions with us to show why we may trust God even if we might have to wait for his help. The key is to wait hopefully, with trust.

Van Gogh's Starry Night Over the Rhône
Van Gogh in a letter to Theo after having painted Starry Night Over the Rhône,
confessing to a "tremendous need for, shall I say the word—for religion—
so I go outside at night to paint the stars."

 

I'm going to let Basil the Great develop the idea of how nature lets us see the invisible God through visible things. I particularly love the way he won't hear of "accidental" development for nature or of "bad mishaps" in people's lives. This is not being able to see with God's foresight.

33:4 All God's Work

The Providence of God. Basil the Great. "If you see the heavens," he says, "and the order in them," they are a guide to faith, for through themselves they show the Craftsman; and, if you see the orderly arrangement about the earth, again through these things also your faith in God is increased. In fact, it is not by acquiring knowledge of God with our carnal eyes that we believe in him, but by the power of the mind we have perceived the invisible God through visible things. Therefore, "all his works are done with faithfulness." Even if you consider the stone, it also possesses a certain proof of the power of its Maker. likewise, if you consider the ant or the gnat or the bee. Frequently in the smallest objects the wisdom of the creator shines forth. He who unfolded the heavens and poured out the boundless expanses of the seas, he it is who hollowed out the very delicate sting of the bee like a tube, so that through it the poison might be poured out. Therefore "all his works are done with faithfulness." Do not say, "This happened by chance" and "that occurred accidentally." Nothing is casual, nothing indeterminate, nothing happens at random, nothing among things that exist is caused by chance. And do not say, "It is a bad mishap," or "it is an evil hour." these are the words of the untaught. "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? (Mt. 10:29) And yet not one of them will fall" (Mt. 10:29) without the divine will. How many are the hairs of your head? Not one of them will be forgotten. (Cf. Mt. 10:30) Do you see the divine eye, how none of the least trifles escapes its glance?  Homilies on the Psalms.

An index of psalm posts is here.

Sharmaji Namkeen (Mr. Sharma's Savoury Snacks)

After being laid off from the company he has worked for his entire life, 58-year-old Sharmaji (Mr. Sharma) struggles with retirement. The one unique hobby he has is his excellent cooking but his sons laugh at his idea of setting up a snack shop. Then a friend sets him up as a cook for a kitty party [what we in America might call a hen party]. A bunch of merry women rekindle in Sharma, a passion for cooking and chutzpah in general, that help him find his true calling.

This was a fun, sweet movie of the kind that Hollywood doesn't make anymore. It has familiar beats because this is a familiar theme in American movies and tv. However, the themes of family and friends are really well done. There are humorous points that I liked a lot. The whole scene in the jail is one I really enjoyed.

One point that I was really curious about was that star Rishi Kapoor died while before filming was complete. As his son, Ranbir Kapoor — also a famous Bollywood actor,  explains in a brief clip at the beginning, they decided to honor his memory by finishing the movie. Paresh Rawal filled in and I was in awe of the way they were able to use a second actor so seamlessly in the uncompleted parts of the movie. In fact, most of the time a switch went unnoticed because we were busy watching the movie. 

It isn't a big movie but it is thoroughly enjoyable and a delightful change of pace. Sometimes that's just what we need.

For an excellent, comprehensive review read this one from Access Bollywood.

In a Roman Osteria

In a Roman Osteria, 1866, Carl Bloch

 I love the expressions on everyone's faces.

An Elegantly Dressed Copyist at the Louvre

Louis Béroud - An Elegantly Dressed Copyist at the Louvr

Via Gandalf's Gallery where we learn:

Copying was an essential part of any 19th century artist’s education and the Musée du Louvre, unlike most academies and ateliers, was open to both men and women who studied its many masterpieces. Here, a woman in blue paints at an easel positioned in front of Leonardo’s monumental painting of the so-called Virgin of the Rocks. Sitting on a stool with a protective tarp beneath her, she raises her right arm, touching her paintbrush to the surface of the canvas, her left hand resting on her hip, and a ready rag spills out of the box of supplies open on a stool to her left. Almost all of the copyists in Béroud’s scenes are women who enjoyed access to the museum as amateur painters.

Christ and His Mother Studying the Scriptures

Christ and His Mother Studying the Scriptures, Henry Ossawa Tanner

Today I am in Houston attending the funeral of my godmother (my husband's Aunt C.B.). She died a while ago but the way things are these days, nothing worked out until now for our final goodbye.

This painting seemed appropriate because, with much trepidation, while I was still in RCIA she sent me Rome Sweet Home by Scott and Kimberly Hahn. I read it and was much moved. When I looked for something else Scott Hahn had written, I picked up A Father Who Keeps His Promises. 

It was formative for me in how I looked at scripture and salvation history in the Bible. Like Saint Augustine, I had thought the Bible to be a lot of simple stories that didn't always hang together. Thanks to Aunt C.B.'s early gift I was led to a deep appreciation of scripture that is part of who I am as a Catholic.