Well Said: How Easily You're Offended

How easily you're offended is directly proportional to how dumb you are.

Bill Murray

Supreme Court Decisions and Living the Christian Life

I was surprised at how hard  the decision hit me. I was really hoping they'd go for truth and wouldn't let popular opinion sway them. I was surprised at how fervently I began praying for my country, which I was surprised to realize I love so much, in the midst of its folly.

So — I was surprised by a lot of things. And left feeling adrift, shaken, devastated.

What helped me was two things.

I share them with you in case you're also struggling.

First, I continued my reading of The Everlasting Man, G. K. Chesterton's look at the spiritual journey of humanity through history. After an hour, I switched over to a history of Catholicism from The Teaching Company. I didn't intentionally select these to help my mood. I was just casting around for listening material.

History was the perfect corrective to remind me that this isn't the first time a country has gone off the rails. And the faith persists, because the believers continue to testify to the Truth wherever they are.

Secondly, we had dinner with a young couple that night. When our talk finally lighted on the topic, both said they were dreading having to turn down invitations for gay friends' weddings. The man said that he'd been wrestling all day with how hard this all was.

I'm condensing our conversation here, but in essence he said, "I realized it should be hard. Christianity began as a humble, downtrodden religion. If we fit in too well then something is wrong. We shouldn't be too comfortable."

Those words have come back to me again and again in the days since.

"It should be hard."

That works on a lot of levels.

What hits me in terms of regular life is how hard it is when things become personal rather than an ideal to argue about.

I imagine gay people whose invitations are turned down may think it is because of harsh judgment or bigotry. I'd bet that much more frequently these are reluctant decisions made because the dictates of conscience and faith must be followed no matter how much we love those friends and family.

I always thought of Jesus' words in Matthew 10:34-38 as those for new converts with disapproving relatives. I see that these timeless words apply right now to our society in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision.

Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man "against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household."

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.

Do we love them less?

No. But we love Jesus Christ, the ultimate truth, more. So eventually we are driven to choose.

In other words, "It should be hard."

That's how much we should love and pray for those who put us in the position of choosing.

Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul
Chattanooga, TN

Finally, John C. Wright wrote a fine piece about what helped him begin to be able to pray for the conversion and salvation of those who have so wounded us.

It begins in a church. It ends with some of his thoughts. No one can be more inspiring when he gets going. Here's a bit.

In one hundred years, when this ruling is only an historical curio, like the Dred Scott Decision ... the One, True, Apostolic and Catholic Church will still be in business, still preaching and teaching the same truths that she has always taught.

And the Church will still speaking the language of sacrifice and self-denying love to a race of fallen beings ... who are so selfish and self-centered that this language is folly and a stumbling block to them.

Selfishness cannot understand selflessness. The darkness cannot comprehend the light, cannot surround and cannot besiege it, cannot defeat it, even in their hour of victory.

Because when we pray for the souls of our deadly enemy, our prayers are answered.

I'd forgotten the Dred Scott decision.

The outrage we feel now must be the same way people felt back then. Not all of them, of course. But over time we have all come to realize the obvious injustice. Which has been corrected.

That's the third thing.

Let us pray.

Well Said: Chris Rock used to tell a joke about racial hardship

In the 1990s, Chris Rock used to tell a joke about racial hardship. "Do you know how hard it is to be black in America?" he would ask the audience. "I'll tell you how hard. There's not a single white person in the audience who would trade places with me. And I'm rich!"

Perhaps Ms. Dolezal is another sign of racial progress.

Jason L. Riley, What Charleston Tells Us About Race Relations

Scott and Julie argue about the meaning of ...

... "Only the mockingbird sings at the edge of the woods."

Neighbors tell them to take it to the edge of the woods because it's 2:00 a.m. and "some of us have work in the morning!"

They quiet down long enough to discuss Mockingbird by Walter Tevis at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

Moving Offices

We're moving offices. Part to home where I will work and where Tom will work part-time. The rest to new offices where the rent is cheaper (that's always the name of the game, right?).

The result is that not only do we have to clean out all the junk accumulated over the years at work, but we have to do it in the two bedrooms at home.

Oy! Veh!

On the plus side, though, I did get $70 at Half-Price Books for that pallet full of books I hauled over there. Woohoo!

All of which is to say that I'm going to be scarce around here for the next few days.

Well Said: You're already on the train.

Albert Brooks, however, confesses that when his children resisted going to temple, he said: "Let me explain something to you: If Hitler came back, he's not going to ask if you went to temple. You're already on the train. So you might as well know who you are and why they're going to take you."

Dave Shiflett's review of Sick in the Head by Judd Apatow

In which we learn how to outsmart delinks ... and Huks.

Part 2 of A Matter of Importance by Murray Leinster is ready for your listening pleasure at Forgotten Classics podcast. Plus the latest podcast I've been binge-listening to.

Well Said: Epitaph on a Hare

I love that Cowper had a pet hare he loved so much. I also love that he didn't sugar-coat the hare's personality. Sounds a right old crochety fellow, he does.

Epitaph on a Hare

by William Cowper

Here lies, whom hound did ne’er pursue,
Nor swifter greyhound follow,
Whose foot ne’er tainted morning dew,
Nor ear heard huntsman’s hallo’,

Old Tiney, surliest of his kind,
Who, nursed with tender care,
And to domesticate bounds confined,
Was still a wild jack-hare.

Though duly from my hand he took
His pittance every night,
He did it with a jealous look,
And, when he could, would bite.

His diet was of wheaten bread,
And milk, and oats, and straw,
Thistles, or lettuces instead,
With sand to scour his maw.

On twigs of hawthorn he regaled,
On pippins’ russet peel;
And, when his juicy salads failed,
Sliced carrot pleased him well.

A Turkey carpet was his lawn,
Whereon he loved to bound,
To skip and gambol like a fawn,
And swing his rump around.

His frisking was at evening hours,
For then he lost his fear;
But most before approaching showers,
Or when a storm drew near.

Eight years and five round-rolling moons
He thus saw steal away,
Dozing out all his idle noons,
And every night at play.

I kept him for his humor’s sake,
For he would oft beguile
My heart of thoughts that made it ache,
And force me to a smile.

But now, beneath this walnut-shade
He finds his long, last home,
And waits in snug concealment laid,
Till gentler Puss shall come.

He, still more agèd, feels the shocks
From which no care can save,
And, partner once of Tiney’s box,
Must soon partake his grave.

Laudato Si Reactions

I haven't read the new encyclical yet and, frankly, am not planning to for a little while. It is very long for one thing. I've got too much other reading scheduled to fit it in.

You can imagine, therefore, that I've been quite interested in the reactions of those I trust to read it thoughtfully and faithfully.

One thing that especially interested me over the last few days was seeing how many people, especially conservatives, were kind of dreading what the pope would say. They prepared by reminding themselves that an open mind and willingness to be guided by the Holy Father were paramount. Very nice.

Here are a few:

• A Bit of Advice for All Preparing to Read Laudato Si - Joseph Suzanka
• Live Tweeting the Reading, part 1 - Thomas L. McDonald (this is several pages long but worth it)
• A Brief Roundup of Reactions - The Deacon's Bench
• All of Our Sin, All of Our Hatred on Trial - The Anchoress, at the bottom she's linked to an extensive list of other reactions.
• Who Said That? - The Deacon's Bench (a reminder that Francis isn't the first pope to bring these things up)

The most valuable (and enjoyable) to me thus far was Tom McDonald's live tweeting, believe it or not. 

I'm suffering from a fair amount of fatigue in being yelled at all the time by social justice warriors, environmentalists, [insert latest righteous cause-ists here]. This encyclical felt as if it could easily be more of the same. Tom's comments showed me there are some interesting layers and that there isn't the scolding I dreaded. Or at least it is qualified and thoughtful scolding.

I still don't have time and it'll have to wait. But at least I'm not dreading it!

Newspeak*: "Trans" and "Cis"

[A quick note about terminology: you'll hear me place people into two subgroups, “trans” and “cis”. “Trans,” of course, means transgender people. “Cis” is the opposite of trans – it's a convenient label meant to designate people whose gender identity is congruent with their birth sex. Basically, if you're not trans, you're cis.]

Skeptoid podcast

I admit the transgender concept baffles me. It just goes to prove that there are people who will pay a lot of money and endure a lot of pain to get life set up just the way they want it.

I'm not sure how happy that will make them because as Thomas a Kempis famously said in The Imitation of Christ:

Wherever you go, there you are.

I also wonder because the desire to continually bring attention to one's transgenderization seems odd. If one finally feels "normal" wouldn't one just shut up and finally enjoy that feeling? For example I have an office mate who has lost 200 pounds in the last two years. His friends and family are pleased for him and he enjoys their congratulations on his accomplishment, but he doesn't go around announcing to everyone he meets that he's lost 200 pounds.

That brings me to the "cis" label.

It is normal for people's "gender identity to be congruent with their birth sex." To add a label it is to assume that it could possibly be abnormal for one's gender to agree with their birth sex. (And just to have to put together the words "birth sex" makes me laugh typing it.)

The day after I came across this term and mentally dismissed it, I read author Ann Leckie's answer to a question about her Ancillary Justice series.

So, I don't think I've ever said that Radchaai are gender neutral--just that they really don't care about anyone's gender, and don't mark it socially or linguistically. So, they're humans, and as such come in all sorts of genders, and they know gender exists, but it's not really a thing they care much about. They care about it, maybe, as much as we care about hair color.

I think it's worth considering (though I know you didn't bring this up explicitly, but I feel it's sort of lurking in the background of your question) how much of what we consider to be "obvious" about someone's gender when we look at them is actually a set of social cues ... And cues that we will often talk about as though they're non-negotiable are full of exceptions--breasts, for instance. I know unambiguously masculine cis-men who have more breast tissue than some unambiguously feminine cis-women.

Ann Leckie

There was "cis" again.

If you notice, "cis" is completely redundant. If a man was "trans" then wouldn't one expect his body to be consistent with his sex? That's the point of it, right? Leckie's point is moot if the people are not as God made them originally.

The only reason I can see to add "cis" is for political correctness. I'm all for not hurting people's feelings but there's no doubt that such "correctness" changes the way we view others and ourselves.

It's Newspeak*.

And "cis" is Newspeak worming its way into our social consciousness.

Do we need to keep slicing our identities up by continually emphasizing ever-increasing differences? Wouldn't it be better to do as Leckie's "Radchaai" and just not worry about it?

By worrying about how we're different we aren't helping each other. It is only when we recognize how we are the same that we can recognize the humanity inherent in each one of us.

Labeling turns us into the "other" and separates us.

No labels for me, thanks, and I won't use them on you either.

God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.

Reinhold Niebuhr

=========

*Newspeak: language with a limiting and constantly shifting vocabulary designed to control thought and eradicate undesirable concepts. From the novel 1984 by George Orwell,

In which we search for a mysteriously missing space transport ...

... and learn the difference between the police and the military. Part 1 of A Matter of Importance by Murray Leinster at Forgotten Classics podcast. Plus a recommendation of the latest podcast I've been binge listening to!

Lagniappe: Medieval Cattle and Kobe Beef

What we would think of as a beef animal had the double purpose of being a working or draught animal that could pull heavy loads. There is an old adage, "A year to grow, two years to plough and a year to fatten." The beef medieval people would have eaten would have been a maturer, denser meat than we are used to today. I have always longed to try it. The muscle acquired from a working ox would have broken down over the fattening year and provided wonderful fat covering and marbling. Given the amount of brewing that took place, the odds are that the animals would have been fed a little drained mash from time to time. Kobe beef, that excessively expensive Japanese beef, was originally obtained from ex-plough animals whose muscles were broken down by mash from sake production and by massage. 'd like to think our beef might have had a not dissimilar flavour.

Clarissa Dickson Wright,
A History of English Food (The Medieval Larder)

Worth a Thousand Words: Brown Hare

Brown Hare
taken by Remo Savisaar

The Other Papal Statement: Embracing Catholic Moral Theology the Day After a Gay Rights Parade in Rome

And now for something completely different. Let's take a glance at some mainstream news coverage of that other recent pronouncement by Pope Francis, the one that didn't get very much ink.

Why is that? Well, the problem is that the pope, in this case, warmly and publicly embraced a key element of Catholic moral theology linked to marriage and sexuality. This is not the sort of thing that ends up getting major play in major American newspapers.

Very interesting. Read all about it at GetReligion.

Blogging Around: The Leaked Encyclical Edition

In case you're curious, here are some good pieces.


12 Things to Know and Share - Jimmy Akin (via The Curt Jester). Everything from "what's an encyclical" to what happened to the journalist who leaked it to what you should believe.

10 Things That Won't Be In Pope Francis's Encyclical "Laudato Si" - Acts of the Apostasy (again via The Curt Jester). Which means it will be funny (#8 Indulgences will not be granted if you install solar panels on your house). There are some calming words of common sense included too.

Beware of Early Media Speculation - GetReligon

Pope Asks For Open Hearts - Vatican Radio (via The Deacon's Bench)

UPDATE
Here's the link to the final version at the Vatican website.

Seven Continents Book Challenge — UPDATED

Via Melanie Bettinelli, this seemed like fun.

Keep in mind that "favorite" is often a shifting term for me. I have a hard time pinning things down to one favorite.


1. What is your favourite book set in Europe? Who is your favourite European author?

Prince of Foxes by Samuel Shellabarger

J.R.R. Tolkien

2. What is your favourite book set in North America? Who is your favourite North American author?

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Can't really lock an author down as "favorite" — just for the moment let's go with Walter Tevis who wrote the truly amazing Mockingbird.

3. What is your favourite book set in South America? Who is your favourite South American author?

I got nuttin'.

UPDATE: Via J. Balconi at The House of Nonsense, I realized I actually have read a book setin South America — and I liked it! The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder.

4. What is your favourite book set in Asia? Who is your favourite Asian author?

Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was which the author very kindly allowed me to read on Forgotten Classics.

Madhur Jaffrey

5. What is your favourite book set in Australasia? Who is your favourite antipodean author?

UPDATE: How can I have forgotten that The Rosie Project is both about a New Zealand couple and by a New Zealander, Graeme Simsion? So much so that we discussed the book on A Good Story is Hard to Find.

Father Paul Glynn who wrote A Song From Nagasaki and The Smile of a Ragpicker

6. Have you ever read, or do you know of, any books written by authors in Antarctica/ the Arctic?

UPDATED: Joseph at Zombie Parent's Guide points out "Brother Guy Consolmagno lived in the Antarctica for a while and I've read a book by him that partially covers his time there, though I don't think he wrote it while he was there." And I loved Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial by Brother Guy and Joseph Mueller.

And I had the honor of virtually meeting Brother Guy when he chose a book for A Good Story is Hard to Find discussion. So that's a double Antarctic connection!

7. Who are your favourite African authors & books set in Africa?

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Elspeth Huxley

I realize what this list really shows is how little actual fiction I read and how much genre / memoir / cookbook reading I do.

I regret nothing!

Your turn ...

Well Said: Keeping a Journal

Keeping a journal has taught me that there is not so much new in your life as you sometimes think. When you reread your journal you find out that your latest discovery is something you already found out five years ago. Still it is true that one penetrates deeper and deeper ito the same ideas and experiences.

Thomas Merton

That is certainly true in blog writing. I don't know how many times I've had an "original" idea for celebrating a saint's day only to find I already used the very picture and comment for several years running. One can only hope there is deeper penetration in my mind and soul!

Encountering Truth by Pope Francis

Encountering Truth: Meeting God in the Everyday by Pope Francis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A promise that comforts, a request for generosity, a mission to fulfill. This is how Jesus makes himself present in the life of a Christian. ...

Promise, request, mission. These three moments are found not only in an active life but also in prayer. First, "a prayer without a word of Jesus and without trust, without promise, is not a good prayer." Second, it is good to ask Jesus to help us be ready to leave something behind, and this gets us ready for the third moment, because there is no prayer in which Jesus does not inspire "something to do."

Early every morning, Pope Francis celebrates a personal sort of Mass in the small Saint Martha chapel at the Vatican. The audience is made up of gardeners, nuns, cooks, office workers, and always changes. What doesn't change is that the pope gives his homilies without notes just as he did when he was a parish priest. This book features highlights from almost 200 daily homilies covering a year from March 2013 to May 2014.

I was enthralled by Antonio Spadaro's introduction which has an in-depth look at how Pope Francis prepares, including what the pope thinks is important in contemplating and conveying the Word of God to the faithful. Spadaro also gives a "map" of the way Francis circles round various topics, engaging them from different angles as the liturgical readings progress day to day. That was a new idea for me, that to get a full sense of his teachings one must patiently look at them from day to day.

I have been reading these homilies as daily devotionals and can testify that the "circular" approach is true. As one works through the liturgy with Francis, one begins to see the way he backs up and tilts his head for different angles on the material we've heard so many times that we take it for granted.

The hunt for the only treasure that we can take with us into the life after life is a Christian's reason for being. It is the reason for being that Jesus explains to the disciples in the passage from the Gospel of Matthew: "Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be." ...

"The Lord has made us restless so that we will seek him, find him, grow. But if our treasure is a treasure that is not near the Lord, that is not of the Lord, our heart becomes restless for things that are no good, for these other treasures ... So many people, we ourselves are restless ... To have this, to get that, and in the end our heart becomes tired; it is never satisfied; it becomes tired, lazy, a heart without love. The weariness of the heart. Let's think about that. ...

(I honestly never thought about St. Augustine's "restless until we rest in you" and "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Maybe it's obvious, but it wasn't to me.)

About halfway through I began expecting to be surprised with each homily, even if only by a throw away line that illustrated the main point. The surprise was good because it made me rethink issues, look deeper into myself, and learn to know God a little better.

To be honest, that's not usually the way I feel after reading Pope Francis's writing. So this is a rare find for me. (What can I say? Pope Benedict's style resonated with me from the get-go. It ain't Pope Francis's fault. I get that.)

These are pretty short, about a page and a half usually, and each has the references for the scriptural readings on which Francis was commenting.

This one's good for people who want to know Pope Francis better, need daily inspiration, want a good gift to give new Catholics, need to reinvigorate their relationship with God, and more. Definitely recommended.

Blogging Around: "The Arts" Edition

Oscar-winner Morricone composes Mass for pope, Jesuits

The Washington Post reports that Ennico Morricone is has composed a Mass, “Missa Papae Francisci," in honor of the 200th anniversary of the restoration the Jesuits.

Fantastic!

I notice they mention his score for The Mission but not for Fistful of Dollars or Once Upon a Time in the West.

If there isn't a harmonica in that Mass I'm going to be disappointed!

The Martian Viral Video

You may recall that I was a big fan of The Martian by Andy Weir, as is my husband who doesn't read much fiction but loved this audiobook.

So we've both been eagerly anticipating and simultaneously dreading the movie. Thus far the trailer seems to support the eager anticipation, which we could tell because it has spoilers galore. About a minute into in Tom started saying, "Too many spoilers! Stop!"

What's more fun is this viral video promo which introduces you to the crew before their mission to Mars begins. It is very much in keeping with the book where NASA keeps funding going by pushing mission news through every outlet they can.

Who wrote this amazing, mysterious book satirizing tech startup culture?

A mysterious little book called Iterating Grace is floating around San Francisco right now. At least a dozen people have received the book in the mail—or in my case, by secret hand-delivery to my house. (Which is a little creepy.)

The artifact itself consists of a 2,001-word story interspersed with hand-drawn recreations of tweets by venture capitalists and startup people like Chris Sacca, Paul Graham, Brad Feld, Sam Altman, and others.

The story’s lead character, Koons Crooks, goes on a spiritual quest by contemplating the social media feeds emanating from the startup world. It leads him to a Bolivian volcano and a chillingly hilarious final act with some cans of cat food, a DIY conference badge, and a pack of vicuñas (which are sort of like llamas).

I first heard about this in Robin Sloan's newsletter (the author of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore who emails so rarely that I forgot who he was ... and I thank him for that lack of clutter in my inbox!).

But you can read about it and pick up a pdf version of the book here. As Sloan said, "P.P.S. If this really is viral marketing I'm going to be so mad."

Scott can't find a match for his Camels. Julie wants beer but all they've got is iced tea. Rose's little man ...

.
..  is warning her about teaming up with these two — even if it is to talk about Double Indemnity.

That's right, baby. It's you and me, straight down the line. Join us at A Good Story is Hard to Find for a discussion of one of Billy Wilder's most famous films.