An Out of Doors Study

John Singer Sargent, An Out-of-Doors Study, 1889,
depicting Paul César Helleu sketching with his wife Alice Guérin

Lagniappe — That Dashed Greek Thing

“Went off in one of his pets as soon as he heard you wasn't home," said Ferdy. "Said he'd call on Revesby to answer for his villainy. Good God. I'm dashed if that Greek thing hasn't got after Monty too, Sherry! Very remarkable circumstance, 'pon my soul it is!"

"What the devil *is* all this about a dashed Greek?" demanded Sherry. "George was trying to tell me about him, but I'm hanged if I could make head or tail of it! All I know is, I'm not acquainted with any Greeks, and what's more I don't want to be!"

"It ain't a thing you're acquainted with, dear old boy. Duke knows what it is. Comes up behind a fellow when he ain't expecting it. Thought it was after me, but it turns out to be Monty. Good thing."

"Yes, but what *is* it?"

Mr. Tarleton said, with a quiver of amusement in his voice: "I fancy he means Nemesis."

"That's it!" Ferdy said, looking at him with respect. "Nemesis! You know him too?"

"Well, it's more than I do!" declared Sherry. "What's more, whoever he is, he had nothing to do with my coming to Bath!”

Georgette Heyer, Friday's Child

Georgette Heyer has long been one of my favorite authors and this lovely bit of inanity shows her at her comedic height. When she's on a roll it's like reading a screwball comedy.

Louis & Lola?

Louis & Lola ?-- TITANIC survivors, [1912 April]
Library of Congress on Flickr

Notes on Mark: Transfiguration as Suspension of Miracle

12th-century icon of the Transfiguration
Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sinai (Egypt)

MARK 9:2-8

The transfiguration is a mystery pure and simple. I would have been just as dumbfounded as the disciples who were there to witness it. 

I am not sure where I picked up this particular note, however, it is fascinating to see that St. Thomas Aquinas said the transfiguration was actually the cessation or suspension of a miracle. This is because Christ pulled aside the veil of flesh to allow His natural glory to be seen.

Mind-blowing, am I right?

Let's just wrap our minds around that for a bit and then I'll have some other people's take on the transfiguration for further mind-bending.

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Sources and Notes Index   

Atonement Is Not Meant to Placate God

Paul wrote that "God put forward [Christ] as a sacrifice of atonement" (Rom 3:25), but the atonement or expiation is not directed to God; it s not meant to satisfy or placate God. Instead, it is directed to sin, that in its being satisfied it will be eliminated. "it can be said that it is God himself, not man, who expiates sin. … The image is more like that or removing a corrosive stain or neutralizing a lethal virus than that of anger that is placated by punishment" (James Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle).

Raniero Cantalamessa, The Power of the Cross

I love this image! I've never had the problem of worrying about an "angry God" but this is the perfect clarification for those who do.

Golden Bear

Golden Bear, Remo Savisaar

 As with every photo from Remo, this is simply gorgeous. Enjoy and click through to get to Remo's blog to see this larger and browse the other wonderful photos.

Vanity

Vanity, 1907, Frank Cowper

The modern world is not evil; in some ways the modern world is far too good.

The modern world is not evil; in some ways the modern world is far too good. It is full of wild and wasted virtues. When a religious scheme is shattered (as Christianity was shattered at the Reformation), it is not merely the vices that are let loose. The vices are, indeed, let loose, and they wander and do damage. But the virtues are let loose also; and the virtues wander more wildly, and the virtues do more terrible damage. The modern world is full of the old Christian virtues gone mad. The virtues have gone mad because they have been isolated from each other and are wandering alone. Thus some scientists care for truth; and their truth is pitiless. Thus some humanitarians only care for pity; and their pity (I am sorry to say) is often untruthful.

G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

I am continually surprised by how this guy nails it ... from 100 years ago.

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

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.

And since it's Friday, we're going to celebrate by eating meat!

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

From a Trip to St. Augustine, Florida

From a Trip to St. Augustine, Florida; via J.R.'s Art Place

Gorgeous! I loved visiting St. Augustine several years ago. The architecture is really beautiful in a lot of places.

And since today is the feast day of the saint for whom this city is named, I'm sharing this gorgeous image.

Palau Baro de Quadras

Palau Baro de Quadras, Carlos Lorenzo

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

Notes on Mark: The Cost of Discipleship

Cottage Pictures from the New Testament, 1856

MARK 8:34-35

This is the famous "take up your cross and follow me" instruction which is followed immediately by "whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it."

How often do I really ponder these words and think about what they meant when Christ said them versus how I translate them into my own everyday life? Not often enough, I fear. Christ never lied to anyone about the cost of discipleship, as Mary Healy points out here.

Jesus does not call his disciples to read this path alone, but following him. Discipleship is a continuous contact with the Master who leads the way at every step.

With the phrase for my sake, the absoluteness of Jesus' claim appears for the first time. Jesus is asking more than any general ever asked of his soldiers or any religious leader ever asked of his adherents. He is not merely demanding a willingness to die for a great cause; he is calling for an unconditional personal allegiance to himself. Whoever loses his life is to do so for the sake of Jesus and his good news. No greater motive is necessary or possible. But this is the very thing that Jesus will do for us: he will give his life (psyche) as a ransom for many (10:45).

The Gospel of Mark: Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture

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Sources and Notes Index    

Vase and Flowers

Vase and Flowers, Emil Carlsen

These colors are so vivid I can't look away.

Julie and Scott were saved by dolphins during a lull in the podcast. Just when they had gotten clear of danger, Julie made them return to save her doll.

In Episode 386 of A Good Story is Hard to Find: Dolphin Island by Arthur C. Clarke and A Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett. 

Some other books from our youth are mentioned!

To learn who rules over you ...

To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.

Kevin Strom

Ouch! The ones who I'm not allowed to criticize probably wouldn't like that. But maybe they don't recognize themselves. They're too busy telling us who we should be nicer to.

An Elegant Woman Near a Spring

Elegante Près d'une Source, Georges de Feure, circa 1903

Aliens and working at a fevered pitch

What you need to know before reading this: Gwedif is an alien. The narrator is human.

Gwedif pulled up to me as we walked. "I wish we had more time," he said. "This happened with Carl too. Barely time for introductions, and then off to decide the fate of our peoples. If nothing else, we've learned that you humans thrive on crisis."

"Anything worth doing is worth doing at a fevered pitch," I said.

"I don't know about that," Gwedif said. "I think the first place I'll go when I visit your planet—really visit your planet, I mean, not that little trip I took earlier—I think I'll go visit a monastery. Those people seem to have the right idea. Slow meditative spiritual contemplation."

"I think most of the monasteries these days are either making chant CDs or boutique wines," I said.

"Really?" Gwedif said. "Well, hell. What is it with you people?"

John Scalzi, Agent to the Stars

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.