Playing Children

Su Hanchen, Playing Children, mid-12th century

A painting by the Song Dynasty Chinese artist Su Hanchen (active 1130s–1160s) of two children waving a peacock feather banner like the one used in Song Dynasty dramatical theater to signal the acting general or leader of troops. If not displayed in the home of a wealthy gentry figure, this painting could very well have been an art piece of the royal family's residence in Hangzhou.

The image and description are via Wikipedia. I was looking for Chinese opera masks and came across this instead. I loved these children and their kitten. People never change ...

Feast Day — The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist

Rogier van der Weyden, in his Beheading of John the Baptist,
transforms a horrific act into a scene of
elegance, subtle feeling and beauty-in-depth. (Paul Johnson)
For more about this painting, see this post.

 

Herod was the one who had John the Baptist arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. Herodias’ own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.” He even swore many things to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Mk 6:17-29

Today is the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist who, as scripture makes abundantly clear, was killed for speaking the truth, shining God's light into the dark, hidden corners of powerful people's lives. I especially love that he was killed simply because he told the truth and wouldn't back down. These days that seems like a very precious commodity.

The first time I heard of this feast I was doing an online retreat which directed us to look at our lives to find our sins, the things that keep us from God ... and to do it while asking for God's grace. That's the perfect focus for this celebration of John's martyrdom. This makes it clear that we can't do it alone. We need God's help to look at ourselves straight, clearly, without hiding from the truth. We have to ask Jesus to shine his light on us to see what is true. I look at Herod, who doesn't know quite what to make of John but who is intrigued. Possibly if he had been able to stand up to Herodias, been less worried about his reputation, he would have become a disciple of John and eventually Jesus. 

I look at Herodias, who knows perfectly well that she has done wrong but is willing to kill, and involve any number of others, including her own daughter, in order to not face her wrongdoings. I look at Herodias' daughter, who is so unable to tell right from wrong that she has no problem asking for the death of someone at her mother's behest. 

Last, but surely not least, I look at John who cares not for the consequences but continues to do what is right even at the ultimate cost to himself. Can I be like John who is willing to let the light shine on and through him? Perhaps, with God's grace, I can ... surely, I must at least strive for it.

His persecutor had demanded not that he should deny Christ, but only that he should keep silent about the truth. Nevertheless, he died for Christ. Does Christ not say: I am the truth? Therefore, because John shed his blood for the truth, he surely died for Christ.

Through his birth, preaching and baptizing, he bore witness to the coming birth, preaching and baptism of Christ, and by his own suffering he showed that Christ also would suffer.

Such was the quality and strength of the man who accepted the end of this present life by shedding his blood after the long imprisonment. He preached the freedom of heavenly peace, yet was thrown into irons by ungodly men; he was locked away in the darkness of prison, though he came bearing witness to the Light of life and deserved to be called a bright and shining lamp by that Light itself, which is Christ. John was baptized in his own blood, though he had been privileged to baptize the Redeemer of the world, to hear the voice of the Father above him, and to see the grace of the Holy Spirit descending upon him. But to endure temporal agonies for the sake of the truth was not a heavy burden for such men as John; rather it was easily borne and even desirable, for he knew eternal joy would be his reward.

St. Bede the Venerable homily, Office of Readings, Liturgy of the Hours

Adolphe Cossard

Adolphe Cossard
via French Painters

Feast Day for St. Augustine

This great saint's feast day is the day after his mother's. They always travel together, so to speak.

Saint Augustine by Philippe de Champaigne

People look upon [the Church] and say, "She is about to die. Soon her very name will disappear. there will be no more Christians; they have had their day." while they are thus speaking, I see these very people die themselves, day by day, but the Church lives on.

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Do you know how we should read Holy Scripture? As when a person reads letters that have come from his native country, to see what news we have of heaven.

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The turbulent have to be corrected, the faint-hearted cheered up, the weak supported; the Gospel's opponents need to be refuted, its insidious enemies guarded against; the unlearned need to be taught, the indolent stirred up, the argumentative checked; the proud must be put in their place, the desperate set on their feet, those engaged in quarrels reconciled; the needy have to be helped, the oppressed to be liberated, the good to be encouraged, the bad to be tolerated; all must be loved. (St. Augustine, describing his daily life)

Just a few tidbits of wisdom from my first saint friend and a great Doctor of the Church, St. Augustine. His writing has informed a lot of my practical daily Catholic life.

At times his writing has soared way above my head (he was brilliant, after all) and I have by no means read even a fraction of it. But even the tidbits, the crumbs, that fall at my feet are gratefully received and have made a huge difference in my life.

Thank you St. Augustine! Pray for us!

(Read about this great saint's life at Catholic Culture.)

The Conversion of St. Augustine by Fra Angelico

Gismonda

Alfons Mucha, Poster for Victorien Sardou's Gismonda
starring Sarah Bernhardt at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris.
Source

Feast of St. Monica, Housewife and Mother

Burial of Saint Monica and Saint Augustine
Departing from Africa Master of Osservanza
via Wikipedia

Widow; born of Christian parents at Tagaste, North Africa, in 333; died at Ostia, near Rome, in 387.

She was married early in life to Patritius who, a pagan, though like so many at that period, his religion was no more than a name. His temper was violent and he appears to have been of dissolute habits. Consequently Monica’s married life was far from being a happy one, more especially as Patritius’s mother seems to have been of a like disposition with himself. Monica’s almsgiving and her habits of prayer annoyed her husband, but it is said that he always held her in a sort of reverence and he converted to Christianity before he died.

Monica was not the only matron of Tagaste whose married life was unhappy, but, by her sweetness and patience, she was able to exercise a veritable apostolate amongst the wives and mothers of her native town; they knew that she suffered as they did, and her words and example had a proportionate effect.

Monica had three children but all her anxiety centred in her oldest son. He was wayward and, as he himself tells us, lazy. As he grew up, he kept seeking the truth but getting interested in heresies. It was at this time that she went to see a certain holy bishop, whose name is not given, but who consoled her with the now famous words, “the child of those tears shall never perish.”

There is no more pathetic story in the annals of the Saints than that of Monica pursuing her wayward son to Rome, wither he had gone by stealth; when she arrived he had already gone to Milan, but she followed him. Here she found St. Ambrose and through him she ultimately had the joy of seeing her yield, after seventeen years of resistance.

Mother and son had six months of true peace together after his baptism. Then Monica died and her son went on to become St. Augustine, one of the one of the most important figures in the development of Western Christianity

Patron:

• difficult marriages
• disappointing children
• victims of adultery or unfaithfulness
• victims of (verbal) abuse
• conversion of relatives

Catholic Encyclopedia

I helped out with our parish's RCIA classes for a couple of years and would give a talk about St. Monica which included the above basics as well as my personal experience with her and St. Augustine. It made me realize that, without thinking about it, I'd grown very fond of St. Monica.

Augustine of Hippo and his mother Monica of Hippo,
Ary Scheffer, 1846, via Wikipedia

Orange

Orange
painted by Paul Coventry-Brown

One of my favorite painters. Be sure to check out his gallery at the link.

Just Plain Fun — The Lost City

Reclusive author Loretta Sage writes about exotic places in her popular adventure novels that feature a handsome cover model named Alan. While on tour promoting her new book with Alan, Loretta gets kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire who hopes she can lead him to the ancient city’s lost treasure that featured in her latest story. Alan, determined to prove he can be a hero in real life and not just on the pages of her books, sets off to rescue her.

This movie had mixed reviews and I've never been a fan of either Sandra Bullock or Channing Tatum. So I ignored it until I came across a positive review from Scott's Self-Indulgent Movie Blog which summed up:

Behind charming lead performances and an upbeat message, The Lost City is a fun as hell romantic action comedy.

We watched this for our family movie night and all of us really had a great time. It's a solid comedy that is an homage to Romancing the Stone, while being completely different. Very funny and a lot of fun. Also, Brad Pitt's part showed why he should do more comedy.

A Really Good Prayer ... Again

I first wrote this back in 2004 and then again in 2013. It seems to come up every ten years since I was recently asked about this post again ... so I'm just popping it in as a new post. 

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Here is a prayer that never fails. It is excellent for those times when someone is crunching popcorn in your ear while you are watching "The Passion", when the choir won't stop practicing even though they did not reserve the room that you need to use, or when you find yourself in the situation I did yesterday ... talking to a very angry man who treats you contemptuously as a simple fool. In other words, it is perfect for helping deal with the irritations and stress of daily life.

Lord, have mercy on me and bless them.

This simple prayer is proof that you do not have to "feel" the prayer. You simply must be willing to say it, however grudgingly. Considering the circumstances that lead up to it, I always am upset and irritated whenever I say it. Do I actually want those annoying people to be blessed? Hmph, I should say not! (At least I don't feel as if I do, although I am going to the effort of saying the prayer...) In fact, yesterday I was shaking with anger when I suddenly realized that prayer was running over and over in my head. But it is the classic case of "ask and you shall receive." Whenever I say it, I never fail to be reminded of my many imperfections, my pride, and that we are all sinners together. Often that is just what I need to calm down and let my anger go. Especially when I remember to ask God what he sees that is lovable in that person. After all, he sees so much deeper than we do.

In fact, yesterday I was given much more than that. I actually was able to walk away without getting sucked into further argument. I let him "win." So he thinks I'm an idiot? OK, fine. Believe me, that's not my way. No matter how hard I have fought with myself, I never have been able to do that before. It was all grace, an amazing triumph over my worst instincts, an answer to prayer for which I am very grateful.

I realized that angry man actually was the answer to a prayer for humility. That's another prayer that usually is fairly grudging. I know I need it. I know its good for me. But I know it hurts. Why is it that those prayers always are answered so quickly? Maybe its because that is the path that takes us closest to where we should be ... death to self, doing everything for the glory of God.

I was left with peace in my heart, an ability to pray for the man to truly be blessed, and an appreciation of humility (again). This morning's prayer for humility was much more sincere. What a great ending to that encounter. Thanks be to God for that simple prayer and for His quick answers.

Feast Day: St. Bartholomew, Apostle

Statue of Bartholomew, Pierre Le Gros the Younger.

In St. John's Gospel, Bartholomew is known by the name Nathaniel (the liturgy does not always seem aware of this identity). He hailed from Cana in Galilee, was one of the first disciples called by the Lord. On that initial meeting Jesus uttered the glorious compliment: "Behold, an Israelite indeed in whom there is no guile!" After the Resurrection he was favored by becoming one of the few apostles who witnessed the appearance of the risen Savior on the sea of Galilee (John 21:2). Following the Ascension he is said to have preached in Greater Armenia and to have been martyred there. While still alive, his skin was torn from his body. The Armenians honor him as the apostle of their nation.

Catholic Culture

I just love Nathaniel who is so straight forward that when Philip tells him to come and see the Messiah, just up and says, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" This is from someone who is from tiny Cana, so little that people argue to this day about where it really was. Just in case we didn't know how tiny and despised Nazareth was.

As Jesus says there truly is no guile in him, because when he mentions the fig tree, Nathaniel bursts out, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." This is the honest soul who is akin to St. Martha, to St. Teresa of Avila, to St. Thomas — speaking truth with a sharp tongue while simultaneously acknowledging God with whole-heartedness. They resonate with me. (Read the whole exchange here. It's good stuff.)

I remember reading a commentary speculating about that Nathaniel was praying something specific under the fig tree, whose branches go down to the ground and provide a nice private spot. This illuminates one of those moments when a simple statement is a piercing truth that speaks to the heart from God ... and yet means nothing to anyone else around.

Notice what he's holding in the sculpture above? That's right, his flayed skin, the source of his martyrdom. Truly he was without guile and where he gave his heart, he followed to the end. Makes the things I suffer and offer up seem very small.

TV You Might Have Missed 11 — Star Trek: Lower Decks

The main characters of Lower Decks (L-R):
D'Vana Tendi, Sam Rutherford, Beckett Mariner, and Brad Boimler.

The Star Trek franchise's first first comedy, Lower Decks focuses on one of Starfleet's least important starships, the USS Cerritos. Unlike previous Star Trek series, whose principal characters are typically starship captains and other senior officers, Lower Decks focuses on the missions and adventures of the "lower deckers", low-ranking officers with menial jobs, while the captain and other senior staff appear as supporting characters.

I first heard of this on Scott's Self-Indulgent Movie Podcast. Scott had never watched any Star Trek of any sort but had the cultural understanding of the show. He enjoyed this animated series so much that he binged the whole thing. We had to try it. By Episode 4 we were hooked. Part of the fun is the references to other Star Trek shows that the lower decks gang toss around. Part of it is the friendship between the lower decks gang. And, finally, part is the wackiness and humor. As for the rest, go read Scott's review. Here's a key part that drew me in.

Lower Decks basically handles a movie-level problem every episode as the main thrust or A plot, often with direct homages to the Star Trek movies themselves. Action scenes are quick and feature everything from hand-to-hand combat to space battles and hell they can destroy a moon or a planet if they want to without obvious green screen work. Meanwhile the secondary storylines, either the B or C storylines, are the equivalent of a sci-fi workplace comedy where one character is trying to impress a superior, deal with some interpersonal conflict, or essentially an episode-long joke.

But because it's a comedy, the life or death stakes often have a silly bent to them. For instance, the recurring villain the Pakleds are deadly serious when encountered in combat but are also...complete morons whose hierarchy is based on hats.

This captures the gist of the thing. We've caught up with all four seasons and are eagerly awaiting the final season which will begin streaming in October. Give this a try.

Jardín de las Elegías

Santiago Rusiñol, Jardín de las Elegías. Circa 1903.

This looks like where I'd like to be — on vacation in a beautiful garden.

On Ray Bradbury's Birthday

"They began by controlling books of cartoons and then detective books and, of course, films, one way or another, one group or another, political bias, religious prejudice, union pressures; there was always a minority afraid of something, and a great majority afraid of the dark, afraid of the future, afraid of the past, afraid of the present, afraid of themselves and shadows of themselves."

Ray Bradbury, "Usher II" (1950)

Ray Bradbury shares a birthday with Hannah ... which I tend to forget. They both share the qualities of being smart as whips, logical, and never fearing to speak the truth. Hannah doesn't have nearly as many best sellers, but there's time.

Mary, Queen of Heaven

 

Coronation of Virgin, Giacomo di Mino, 1340-1350

From the earliest ages of the Catholic Church a Christian people, whether in time of triumph or more especially in time of crisis, has addressed prayers of petition and hymns of praise and veneration to the Queen of Heaven. And never has that hope wavered which they placed in the Mother of the Divine King, Jesus Christ; nor has that faith ever failed by which we are taught that Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, reigns with a mother's solicitude over the entire world, just as she is crowned in heavenly blessedness with the glory of a Queen.

Ad Caeli Reginam
His Holiness Pope Pius XII
Encyclical on Proclaiming the Queenship of Mary
Promulgated October 11, 1954

I remember the thing that made this feast day come into focus for me was learning about King Solomon's Queen Mother who brought cases before him for special attention. I tell you, typology really helps you get a mental grip on things.

The Floor Scrapers

The Floor Scrapers, Gustave Caillebotte

This is one of the first paintings to feature the urban working class. It reintroduces the subject of the male nude in the painting, but in a strikingly updated form. Instead of the heroes of antiquity, here are the heroes of modern life—sinewy and strong—in stooped poses that would appear demeaning if they did not convey a sense of masculine strength and honest labor.[5] There is a motif of curls in the image, from the wood shavings on the floor, to the pattern of ironwork in the window grill to the arched backs and arms of the workers. The repetition in the image, with the three workers engaged in different aspects of the same activity but having similar poses, is similar to works by Caillebotte's contemporary, Edgar Degas. — Wikipedia

A Saint for Today: St. Pius X

I never paid much attention to St. Pius X before but once you read about him it becomes blindingly obvious that he is a saint we should be asking for intercession in these modern times.

Pope Pius X working in the Vatican Gardens, 1913

He exercised holy intransigence in keeping the faith pure from doctrinal error. He reformed the Sacred Liturgy and promoted the custom of the frequent reception of Holy Communion. The motto of his Pontificate was Instaurare omnia in Christo [To restore all things in Christ]. He died on August 20, 1914. ...

St. Pius X made the motto of his Pontificate a reality -- to restore all things in Christ -- through his deep concern to stem the tide of the many evils that threatened the faithful. He frequently insisted on the damage ignorance of the Faith produces. He used to say: It is useless to expect a person without formation to fulfill his Christian duties. Time and again he pointed out the need to teach the catechism. From his uneasiness concerning the lack of Christian formation there was produced the Catechism of St. Pius X, which has done so much good in the church. His vehement desire to give doctrine in a world starving for the want of it, is reflected throughout his entire magisterium. ...

Many of the errors St. Pius X fought against are uncritically accepted in our own day. In countries evangelized almost twenty centuries ago great numbers of people are ignorant of the most elementary truths of the Faith. Many are defenseless and with the complicity of their own passions allow themselves to be taken by the erroneous opinions of a few. The call of St. Pius X to conserve and spread good doctrine is still a fully current and vital issue.

In whatever way possible, it is especially urgent to make known the teachings of the Church on the meaning of life, on the end of man and his eternal destiny, on marriage, on generosity in the number of children, on the right and duty of parents to choose the education their children receive, on the social doctrine of the Church, on love for the Pope and his teachings and on the evil of abortion. We should do all we can -- family catechism, the diffusion of good books, daily conversations concerning faith and morals ... Moreover, may we never forget as Pope John Paul II reminds us, that faith is strengthened by sharing it.

In Conversation With God : Feast Days July - December

Also, I've gotta love a defender of the faith who can make quips.

The Pope was renowned for performing miracles. One day his former parishioners went to the Vatican to pay him a visit. With their customary simplicity and confidence, devoid of tact, they asked him: Father Beppo (as they used to call him when he was a parish priest), is it true you can work miracles? And the Pope with simplicity and good humor responded: Look, here in the Vatican, you have to turn your hand to a bit of everything. ...

Scott's hoping for the part of the kingdom with the water park. Julie will take any part that doesn't contain the heath.

 In Episode 338 of A Good Story is Hard to Find we discuss King Lear (2008) starring Ian McKellan

View of the Westerkerk

Jan van der Heyden, View of the Westerkerk, Amsterdam, 1670s
via Wikipedia

It's hard to see in this image but if you look at it larger (say at the Wiki link), you'll see the people going about their daily routines. I know life then was as it is now, messy and confusing sometimes. But these people and the scene look so calm and peaceful.

Fable has strong shoulders

... the abbot of our monastery always said that fable has strong shoulders that carry far more truth than fact can.

Barry Hughart, Bridge of Bird

Coronation of the Virgin

Coronation of the Virgin
Book of Hours (Use of Rome), France, Lyons, c. 1495-1510
by Guillaume II Le Roy

I love picture books pages from books of hours, such as we see here, are always interesting to me. How much more would we get from our devotions if there were wonderfully illustrated paintings to help our imaginations take flight, to aid us in pulling back the veil between us and God?

If nothing else would I be lured into reading more devotional work if I had the pictures to get me to pick it up and open it?

That is a moot point I suppose since such things are still the province of rich men today just as much as they were yesterday. No one would publish them because they would be prohibitively expensive to buy. All the more reason to enjoy these pages from the past which can still enrich our imaginations ... and souls.