Christmas Podcasts

I have one new podcast to add to my usual favorites, which are busily turning out new episodes that I'm enjoying a lot.

I'll kick us off with a new series from Hypnogoria. The Hypnogoria podcast is actually a long running horror podcast with an emphasis on deep dives into the history of such things as the Universal horror movie legacy, zombie stories, Halloween, Sir Christopher Lee, and more. Jim Moon is a host you can trust. When he began the history of Halloween and also the "Search for Santa", he was even-handed in the extreme to both Christians and pagans. He also has a jovial delivery style that I really enjoy.

He's begun an Advent series, now up to about day 8 or so. Just subscribe to the regular feed and it will pop up daily until we get to Christmas. We've heard about candles and Epiphany, but also been introduced to frumenty, the Christmas goat, and other fascinating items you never heard of, or certainly never heard related to Christmas! Website, iTunes

This is the first Christmas podcast I discovered. Lee Cameron hasn't updated it since 2018 but with 141 episodes you can go a long time before you run out. He gives great coverage of all sorts of topics, from Santa (of course) to a Medieval Christmas to Real vs. Artificial Trees. There is usually a song from an artist you might not have discovered. Website, iTunes.

It's the fascinating backstories to the Christmas traditions you cherish. Christmas Past brings you year-round Christmas history, forgotten Christmas fiction, roundtables, interviews, and most of all, Christmas cheer. And it's all from the uniquely warm and nostalgic world of Brian Earl — where the holiday season never ends!

I like Brian's laid back style. His very good 3-part history of Santa which kicked off the podcast let me know I was in good hands. He ranges from Eggnog to Christmas Advertising to NORAD Tracking Santa. Each episode ends with someone sharing a Christmas memory about the featured topic. Episodes usually range from 10 - 30 minutes. And he's now got a book out which looks really great! So check on Amazon if you want something to send to a fellow Christmas lover. Website, iTunes.

Have you ever wondered about where our favourite holiday foods come from? What really is a figgy pudding, or how does a Roman Pope stop the world from enjoying German stollen? Join host and certified baker, Glen Warren, as he dives into the history of the foods which shape our holidays in Season's Eatings: The History of Your Favourite Christmas Foods.

This is right down my alley. Food and Christmas - it doesn't get much better than this. It's a  new podcast with episodes ranging from 10-20 minutes as Glen covers Sugar Plums, the Yule Log (my mom used to make this sometimes), Sweet Potatoes, and more. Website, iTunes
 

 My Merry Christmas has been celebrating Christmas since 1991 when faxed letters to Santa helped a young newly married man explain Santa to his new 5-year-old stepdaughter who was a skeptic. Since then it has surfed every technological development gaining Christmas fans around the globe, winding up with this podcast.  (It's a great story - read it here.)

The Merry Little Podcast is a 10-20 minute exploration of Christmas history, culture, tradition and entertainment. There's usually a song or two included. The host can be opinionated but that's part of what podcasting is all about, sez I. Website, iTunes

Model Making Mischief

Model Making Mischief, Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta
Image source

I especially enjoy looking at the dress details in this painting. I love that dress. What I love most though is the artist's sense of humor in drawing his model being so sassy.

Meditations on Vatican Art: Angels by Mark Haydu

These are coffee table sized books with gorgeous reproductions of paintings and lovely page design. They contains the scripture which is being considered along with the painting, insightful commentary and good reflections. They are wonderfully inspirational daily reading and meditating on what the artists were conveying was fascinating. I read Meditations on Vatican Art when it came out and this year saw the Angels book which was inexpensive. The description below is for the Angels book but the basics work for both. They are really wonderful.

Open your heart to the presence of angels, God’s holy messengers and protectors. In Meditations on Vatican Art: Angels, you can reflect on stunning depictions from the Vatican Museums and contemplate angelic encounters in Scripture.

Following his acclaimed first book, Fr. Mark Haydu, international coordinator of the Patrons of the Arts of the Vatican Museums, serves once again as your spiritual guide for a breathtaking journey through time, meditation, and the Vatican art collections.

Meditations on Vatican Art: Angels offers you a deeper understanding of your own spiritual journey as you follow Fr. Haydu’s explanation of the battle between the fallen angels and the faithful angels and God sending His angels to watch over you. The book’s splendid reproductions of major works represent ancient through contemporary periods in art.

Each day’s meditation includes a:

• Unique image with descriptive and contextual background about the artist and the work
• Relevant and insightful passage from Scripture
• Reflection on the meaning of the work with questions to ponder

Contemplate the 34 meditations in this hardbound book as the Holy Spirit inspires or use them to create a retreat for yourself or a group. Let Meditations on Vatican Art: Angels open your heart and help you become aware of angels’ existence and their desire to keep you from harm and guide you to God.

Nothing more beautiful ...

Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is. ... There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ.

Pope Benedict XVI, April 24, 2005

Truer words were never spoken.

Bragging that today is not yesterday

Though today is always today and the moment is always modern, we are the only men in all history who fall back upon bragging about the mere fact that today is not yesterday. I fear that some in the future will explain it by saying that we had precious little else to brag about.

G.K. Chesterton, All I Survey

The further away we move from Chesterton in time, the more prescient he is revealed to be.

The New Jerusalem Bible: Saints Devotional Edition edited by Bert Ghezzi

Featuring two hundred readings selected by Bert Ghezzi, this special edition of The New Jerusalem Bible will enhance readers’ understanding and appreciation of both the biblical texts and the lives of the saints. For example, the story of Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden is followed by an excerpt from the writings of Saint Gregory Nazianzen, which brings new meaning to an already familiar tale. Interspersed throughout the text is a twenty-part lesson on studying, praying, and living the Scriptures, which contains longer selections from the saints’ writings addressing these specific issues. The Bible also includes a list of themes for easy reference, as well as a calendar of saints and a list of patron saints.

 Since I recently praised Bert Ghezzi's Voices of the Saints book, I'll add this for anyone interested in the saints. 200 excerpts from 90 different saints' writings and teachings are appropriately distributed through the Bible, 100 for the Old Testament and 100 for the New. There are also 20 excerpts where saints speak about scripture itself.

This is inspirational way to read scripture, especially since editor Bert Ghezzi features many saints who I wasn't familiar with. When I was familiar with a saint, such as Augustine, the excerpt frequently is one I've never seen before.  Ghezzi was digging deep to be sure he had writing that adds real depth and insights that we might not otherwise get. The thoughtful reader will find much for meditation here.

I'd also not come across the New Jerusalem Bible translation before which I am enjoying.

Discussing the character of others

Considering how much we are all given to discuss the character of others, and discuss them often not in the strictest spirit of charity, it is singular how little we are inclined to think that others can speak ill-naturedly of us and how angry and hurt we are when proof reaches us that they have done so.

Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers

From one of my favorite books I read this year. Trollope is so funny and so accurate! Ouch!

Maple Leaf

Maple Leaf from
Calligraphy in the Landscape

Finally fall color has come to Dallas, along with the sunny weather which lights up the leaves and reminds us that "God made the world beautiful because he loves us." It makes our morning walks pure delight as shafts of sunlight pick out different trees. When I drove my mother around the neighborhood yesterday, we got that same pleasure from different angles in the car.

 No culture observes the seasons more than the Japanese. And no maple is more beautiful than Japanese maples, in my opinion. That makes Calligraphy in the Landscape the perfect place to go right now while fall is in the air. Gorgeous photography, haiku, and calligraphy combine for a lovely opportunity for meditation. Or simply for celebrating autumn.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #77 — My Neighbor Totoro

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. 

As a fun update for this movie, I will soon be showing pieces of it to my 2-year-old grandson. Way back in 2004 when I first reviewed this film, he was so far in the future that I never could have imagined the joy and fun he brings. Hopefully, he'll love this movie as much as his mother did. 

 

Way back in 2004 I reviewed this film. That was before I had an entire series about movies you might have missed so I thought I'd be sure this was brought to mind. These days you might have heard of the film because filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki is now known more outside of Japan than he used to be. Specializing in animated films for children, Miyazaki is a masterful storyteller whose talent transcends national culture. 

Also, the people who were young enough to be babysitters in 2004 are now adults with kids of their own. And the kids they were showing this to are also grown. So anime isn't such a foreign concept now as it was then.

Here is my original review which captures a bit of our family's film culture.

Ok, your kids might have seen this but chances are if they have it is because you know my kids. Thanks to Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z my girls got attached to Japanese animation (anime) when they were little. Then they moved on to kids' manga (Japanese graphic novels) which is where Sailor Moon, etc. actually began.

Anime usually doesn't have much of a U.S. following, except among true movie lovers, because they don't follow the expected pattern. For one thing, they are animated but aren't produced by Disney (or Dreamworks or Pixar). For another, they tend to show in art houses which also are unfamiliar to a lot of folks.

We heard of My Neighbor Totoro and were surprised to find it available for rental. Eventually we had to buy our own copy, which my daughters now take with them when baby sitting. This delights the kids and annoys the parents because then their children start pestering them to buy the movie.

My Neighbor Totoro is a charming, original story by a famous Japanese filmmaker. It is the story of two young girls and their father moving to a new home in the forest. The girls go exploring and come across Totoro, a giant forest spirit.

Check out the reviews at Amazon for the full story.

I've seen some cultural warnings about possible misunderstandings also which never occurred to us when we originally watched it, such as:

... there are a couple of scenes that are perfectly innocent in Japanese culture -- like the dad sitting in the bathtub with both little girls-- that may raise some eyebrows/questions in American culture. Please be assured there's nothing sexual about the scene, it is 100% innocent and acceptable in Japan for adults to bath with their younger children (the girls in this movie are 9 and 4 I believe), but American culture is a little different so I thought I'd put a heads up here.

There are other differences but we found that part of the charm as a window into another world. We've enjoyed many of Miyazaki's films but this is a real delight.

Dewy Spider Web

Dewy Spider Web
via Wikipedia

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

Elizabeth has received a letter from an old colleague, a man with whom she has a long history. He's made a big mistake, and he needs her help. His story involves stolen diamonds, a violent mobster, and a very real threat to his life.

As bodies start piling up, Elizabeth enlists Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron in the hunt for a ruthless murderer. And if they find the diamonds too? Well, wouldn't that be a bonus?

But this time they are up against an enemy who wouldn't bat an eyelid at knocking off four septuagenarians. Can The Thursday Murder Club find the killer (and the diamonds) before the killer finds them?

This was the follow up to The Thursday Murder Club which introduced four unlikely friends who meet every Thursday to try to solve cold cases. When a real murder happens at the property, they decide to have fun with a case in progress. I liked it but found rather frenetic by the end. This second novel was better and very enjoyable.  

In fact, I went back and listened to the audiobook of the first book and liked it better the second time around. So I recommend both!

Well Said: What a book provides

A book provides more than what's between its covers. It's a relationship that stays with us for a lifetime. It is always faithful. And usually it is kind.

Stephen Tobolowsky

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Saints and Feasts of the Catholic Church by Father Michael Black

I don't know how I stumbled across this series. Sometimes browsing from one link to another does turn up just what you want, even when you don't know that's what you want. This is a very good book looking at the saints approved for the universal  Church's calendar and for the USA. It's one of a four volume series which cover the year.  It is a really good complement to my all-time favorite saint book Voices of the Saints by Bert Ghezzi as each shows the saints with emphasis on different parts of their lives.

The author does a podcast which is uses this series for the source material. I like the podcast description, which is from the introduction to one of the books.

"Catholic Saints & Feasts" offers a dramatic reflection on each saint and feast day of the General Calendar of the Catholic Church.

These reflections profile the theological bone breakers, the verbal flame throwers, the ocean crossers, the heart-melters, and the sweet-chanting virgin-martyrs who populate the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church.

One of the things I especially like is that this covers what I think of as oddball feasts, such as for the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (November 9), which isn't included in any books which only cover saints. Father Black's description made me truly appreciate this feast day for the first time. Here's just a tiny sample.

A church's walls do not make one a Christian, of course. But a church has walls nonetheless. Walls, borders, and lines delimit the sacred from the profane. A house makes a family feel like one, a sacred place where parents and children merge into a household. A church structurally embodies supernatural mysteries. A church is a sacred space where sacred actions make Christians unite as God's family. Walls matter. Churches matter. Sacred spaces matter. Today the Church commemorates a uniquely sacred space, the oldest of the four major basilicas in the city of Rome. The Lateran Basilica is the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Rome and thus the seat of the Pope as Bishop of Rome.

A basilica is like a church which has been made a monsignor. Basilicas have certain spiritual, historical or architectural features by which they earn their special designation. ...

The Kindle version of each book is really cheap so you aren't risking much to give it a try.

Apricots on a Branch

 

Apricots on a branch by Carl Balsgaard, via J.R.'s Art Place

Daily Exercise

Daily Exercise
painted by Karin Jurick

You must stick by the work entrusted to you and the task you have undertaken

I am shocked that you are so upset by all these routine scandals that you prefer to spend your life in silence rather than to stay in the duties entrusted to you.

Where will your blessed perseverance be if your patience fails? Remember the apostle who said: “All who want to live piously in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution”. Endurance exists not only in confessing the name of Christ by sword and fire and various punishments. But differences in customs, insults of the disobedient and barbs of wicked tongues and various temptations are also included in this kind of persecution.

There is not a single occupation that is without its dangers. Who will guide the ship if the pilot quits his post? Who will guard against wolves if the shepherd does not watch? Or who will drive away the robber if the watchman sleeps? You must stick by the work entrusted to you and the task you have undertaken. You must hate the sins, not the people. Even though tribulation brings us more than we can endure, let us not be afraid as if we were resisting with our own strength. We must pray with the apostle that God give us “the way out with the temptation,” that we may be able to withstand, for Christ is both our courage and our counsel, "without him we can do nothing" and "with him we can do all things."

St. Braulio (d. 650) in a letter
to his brother who wanted to resign being abbot,
via The Voices of the Saints: A Year of Readings by Bert Ghezzi

This quote was sprinkled with references to scriptural passages in parentheses which I assumed were added by Bert Ghezzi and not St. Braulio. If I got that wrong I apologize but it was insanely distracting when reading this powerful letter.

It could have been written to us today. We forget that we aren't the only ones who have felt buffeted by insults, misunderstandings, and temptations when trying to live our faith.

Voices of the Saints: A Year of Readings by Bert Ghezzi

I've been really negligent in not reviewing this book on the blog. I have loved it since the first edition came out. I now have it on my Kindle for ease in reading about whatever saint has come up in alphabetical order that day. Each is covered in about two pages, which include a sizable chunk of the saint's writing or something by a contemporary (if they weren't a "writing" saint) so we get a deeper look at them from the inside.

Here's a bit more from The Anchoress whose full review you can read here.

Bert Ghezzi’s Voices of the Saints; A Year of Readings is one of those books every Catholic household really should have. This is a meticulously researched and cross-referenced book of saints for grown-ups. No pictures, no frills – you get the information you are seeking, and a taste of their own writings, but the book is arranged with themes and calendar prompts. If you’re if you’re dealing with issues of, say, obedience, you look under “obedience” (if you’re feeling cranky look under “porcupine saints”) and you’re be referred to a helpful Christian whose one struggles or wisdom will help you out. This book gives you a real sense of the “communion” of saints.

Four O Four

Four O Four by Karin Jurick

Light

Light by Karin Jurick 

Psalm 36 — The Wicked and the Righteous

When you see transgressors of the law being so zealous in their evildoing, do not attribute this evil to nature—this is what the heretics teach—but in saying Psalm 36 know that they are the cause of their own sinful behavior.

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms

I'm really struck by the statement above. To attribute one's evil to their nature instead of to their own choice to commit sin is just the way a lot of evil is spoken about today. Once again, human nature is the same now as it was thousands of years ago.

Waves in Stained Glass

There are two points that I like to think about in this psalm. The first is made by Saint Augustine about wickedness and a possible way out of it.

36:4 Plotting Evil

Our Inner Bedroom, Saint Augustine. Our bedroom is our heart, for there we toss and turn if we have a bad conscience, but there, if our conscience is easy, we find rest. .. But the person of whom our psalm is speaking retired there to hatch his evil plots, where no one would see him. And because such wickedness was the subject of his meditation, he could find no rest, even in his heart.

The Road to Evil, Saint Augustine. If we cannot be free from wickedness, at let us hate it. When you have begun to hate it, you are unlikely to be tricked into committing a wicked act by any stealthy temptation. ... Hate sin and iniquity, so that you may unite yourself to God, who will hate it with you. Homilies on the Psalms.

Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

I really was struck by this discussion of "living water" which is referred to in the psalm. I never looked specifically into the phrase. This really adds another level of meaning to both the psalm and every time Jesus brings it up.

The psalmist speaks in reverential tones of experiencing the hospitality of the divine house of Yahweh (36:8-9) and of sharing the refreshment offered by the host: restorative drink drawn from God's "river of delights" and the "fountain of life."...

First, "living water" (mayim hayyim) most often refers to flowing water taken from streams or rivers or to water drawn from spring-fed pools. This kind of living water was distinguished from standing water left in jars, gathered in cisterns, left standing by rainfall in stagnant pools, or even drawn from a well. The distinction was particularly important in the laws of ritual purity and cleansing. Only "living water" had the property of cleansing from uncleanness. For this reason ritual baths had to be provided with some access to living water in order to maintain their cleansing property and status. Often a channel of living water would be directed from a stream or spring to the site of the bath so that a small amount could be let into the chamber pool before each supplicant entered for cleansing. ...

[In his conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well] Jesus deepens the conversation by pointing to a spiritual meaning: "Everyone who drinks this [well] water will never be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

Living water has been transformed into a "spring of water ... [of] eternal life" (equivalent to maqor hayyim in Ps. 36). Jeremiah employs a similar phrase (meqor mayim hayyim ["spring of living water]) to speak of Yahweh as a "spring of living water" that Israel rejected in favor of cisterns dug by their own hands (Jer. 2:13, 7:13). The woman understands the allusions in Jesus' conversation and immediately asks to receive what Jesus is offering.

Psalms Volume 1 (The NIV Application Commentary)

An index of psalm posts is here.