How I Believe

A favorite passage from one of my favorite books is the quote below from Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited.

Charles Ryder and Sebastian Flyte, two young Englishmen, meet at Oxford in the period between the two world wars. Charles is an unbeliever, and Sebastian is from an aristocratic Roman Catholic family. Once they have been friends for a while, Charles brings up Sebastian's faith and Catholicism. What follows is the dialogue between the two:

(Sebastian) “Oh dear, it’s very difficult being a Catholic!”

(Charles) “Does it make much difference to you?”

(Sebastian:) “Of course. All the time.”

(Charles) “Well, I can’t say I’ve noticed it. Are you struggling against temptation? You don’t seem much more virtuous than me.”

(Sebastian) “I’m very, very much wickeder,” said Sebastian indignantly.

(Charles) “… I suppose they try to make you believe an awful lot of nonsense?”

(Sebastian) “Is it nonsense? I wish it were. It sometimes sounds terribly sensible to me.”

(Charles) “But my dear Sebastian, you can’t seriously believe it all.”

(Sebastian) “Can’t I?”

(Charles) “I mean about Christmas and the star and the three kings and the ox and the ass.”

(Sebastian) “Oh yes. I believe that. It’s a lovely idea.”

(Charles) “But you can’t believe things because they’re a lovely idea.”

(Sebastian) “But I do. That’s how I believe.”

I love the passage, because Sebastian describes how I believe, too. It's very much the stories, the myths (not myths in the sense of something that's not true - myths in the sense of universal truths) that draw me into Christianity.

A note about the nativity set in the picture: The figures were made from ordinary ceramic molds, which I've seen examples of here and there, but my mother made them and painted them some years ago, so I'm sentimentally attached. I have three large camels, too, but they crowd the table, so I left them out this year. I just now noticed that the baby Jesus is hidden in the picture. Shame on me.

I bought a digital camera, but I haven't taken it out of the box yet, because I know it will be a struggle to learn how to use it and upload the pictures to the computer. I'm actually afraid of it. I look at the box and glance quickly away. If I knew how to use it, I could arrange the figures differently and bring Jesus into the picture, Jesus in the picture seeming rather important at this time of the year.

Padre Mickey's Christmas Pageant

Give yourself a pre-Christmas, treat and visit Padre Mickey's blog to see his Christmas pageant. This is, no doubt, his masterpiece. You won't be sorry.

O Virgo Virginum

O Virgo Virginum (An Anglican Bonus)

O Virgin of virgins,
how shall this be?
For neither before was any like thee,
nor shall there be after.
Daughters of Jerusalem,
why marvel ye at me?
That which ye behold is a divine mystery.

O Virgo virginum,
quomodo fiet istud?
Quia nec primam similem visa es
nec habere sequentem.
Filiae Ierusalem,
quid me admiramini?
Divinum est mysterium hoc quod cernitis.

Luke 1:26-35

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.

Alas! I have not found music for "O Virgo", since this antiphon only appears in the Sarum (Anglican) Rite. The rest of the videos come from a Roman Catholic source.

Also, see the meditation posted by Vicki Black at Speaking to the Soul at the Episcopal Café.

Image from ChantBlog.

Text from Apostolcity.

O Emmanuel

December 22

O Emmanuel, our King and our Law-giver, Longing of the Gentiles, yea, and salvation thereof, come to save us, O Lord our God!

Latin

O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, exspectatio gentium, et Salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos Domine Deus noster.

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman* is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.

See Vicki Black's s post on Speaking to the Soul at the Episcopal Café.


Video from YouTube. Antiphon sung by the Dominican student brothers at Oxford.

Text from Fish Eaters.

Ooooh, How Sweet!

Pictured above is the nativity set that belongs to Ann at What the Tide Brings In. Isn't it lovely? For other close-up pictures of the set, click the link to her blog.

Haiku Anyone?

Image from Wiki. "These characters are the ones used on chōchin (hanging paper lanterns), such as the ones you might see outside a yakitori stand in Japan."


If you choose to participate, write a haiku using the simple 5-7-5 rule for syllables in a three-line haiku. It's not necessary that the lines rhyme. There are all sorts of other complicated rules for writing proper Japanese Haiku, but that's not what we're doing here. The haiku should make some sort of sense, and extra points if you continue from the subject of the previous haiku. However, that's not a rule. If you'd like to move on to another subject, go ahead. The haiku can be happy, sad, funny, or whatever mood you choose.

I'll start:

Sad sound that I hear,
The wounded bird crying out.
Who will heed her call?

UPDATE: Feel free to nominate your favorites.

"Wishing You A White Christmas"

From Dangerblond, the femme formidable New Orleans blogger, who possesses major supersnark skills. If you're looking for politically correct, then move along, because it's not here.

You know, I’m kind of glad New Orleans is getting rid of all our black people. I really prefer Hispanics when it comes to menials. Have you noticed how they behave? They try as hard as they can to melt into the background and be invisible. This is preferable to the attitude of our former uppity negroes, who simply insist on being noticed and recognized as people. Let them assert their personhood somewhere else!

I appreciate the way the little brown people keep their eyes on the ground when they talk to me. It’s as though they instinctively recognize my blond superiority. Each time I interact with them, I am reminded of the movie “Mrs. Brown,” about Queen Victoria. In that movie, when the queen suddenly appears in the hallway, any servants who happen to be passing through there stop in their tracks and turn immediately to the wall. They stand there silently looking at the wall until the queen is well past them. This keeps the queen from having suffer the indignity of having a low class chamber maid look at her, or, god forbid, smile at her. This movie is a model of how the servant class should behave in the presence of their betters, and more people ought to do themselves the favor of watching it.

It’s also a very nice feature that the new Hispanic lower class does not speak much English. I speak a little Spanish, but I pretend not to, because one doesn’t like to waste one’s time conversing with the help. I don’t like to be bothered with tales of woe, of which poor people seem to have an endless supply. How tiresome. “Sorry, Emelda. No comprende!”

The new Latin servant class is not only properly humble, but they bow and scrape with appreciation for every crumb you throw their way. It truly makes my heart feel grand. I’ve seen them living in gutted out buildings with no electricity, driving cars that shouldn’t even be allowed on the road, and wearing absolute rags. Naturally, they don’t ask for much. All it takes to make them happy is some rice and beans, and what could be healthier than rice and beans?

With their frugal living habits and distaste for luxuries, you can get a Mexican for half what it costs to hire an African-American. Most of them are working in this country illegally anyway, so who are they going to complain to? Ha! It’s so nice for the rest of us when lower class people have no options.

Awesome!

Feast Day of Thomas The Apostle

"The Incredulity of Saint Thomas" by Caravaggio, from Wiki.

Peter and Thomas are two of my favorite saints, because they were human and obviously imperfect, and yet we celebrate their lives even now. Their humanity and imperfection further my hope that one day I will join them in the heavenly kingdom with the rest of the saints.

The following poem came to me as I pondered the lives of the two saints.

God's Woman

Peter, Thomas, are you my kin?
I call you, "Brother". Are we alike?
You imperfect ones, a doubter, a denier,
Am I your sister?

"I tell you I do not know him!"
Three times your Lord denied.
Oh, Peter, when you heard the cock crow,
Your salty tears were bitter.

You, Thomas, to touch, to see was all.
"Me believe? When I see the nail marks,
When I put my finger in his side."
"My Lord and my God!"

You, my brothers, deeply, fully human,
You flaw-filled men of God,
You give me strength; you give me courage.
Perhaps I'll be God's woman, after all.

June Butler 4/18/07

Jesus and Thomas

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

John 20:24-29

READINGS:

AM: Psalm 23, 121; Job 42:1-6; 1 Peter 1:3-9
PM: Psalm 27; Isaiah 43: 8-13; John 14:1-7

PRAYER

Almighty and everliving God, who strengthened your apostle Thomas with sure and certain faith in your Son's resurrection: Grant us so perfectly and without doubt to believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, that our faith may never be found wanting in your sight; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Do click on the picture and get the larger view. It's so beautiful.

UPDATE: Padre Mickey has a fine post on Thomas. I like this that El Padre said, "God gave us large brains capable of reason and thought, and God expects us to use these brains even in spiritual matters. Questioning and study are all part of loving God with all our minds." Amen.

O Rex Gentium

December 21

O King of the Gentiles, yea, and desire thereof!
O Corner-stone, that makest of two one,
come to save man, whom Thou hast made out of the dust of the earth!

Latin

O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum,
lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:
veni, et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti.


Isaiah 9:7

His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onwards and for evermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 2:4

He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.

See Vicki Black's s post on Speaking to the Soul at the Episcopal Café.


Video from YouTube. Antiphon sung by the Dominican student brothers at Oxford.

Text from Fish Eaters.

"An Interesting Bit Of Irony"

From the Rt. Rev. Charles Jenkins, Bishop of Louisiana:

On the day before the City Council of New Orleans voted unanimously to move ahead with the demolition of four public housing sites in New Orleans, Church leaders were summoned by FEMA and HUD to a housing summit. We were asked by the officials present to assist with the looming housing crisis in New Orleans. Those of us who attempt to minister in the area of housing were asked to move quickly to be part of the solution to the crisis that is coming. We were told that the critical point would be in April of 2008.

FEMA plans to move thirty thousand families out of travel trailers before the next Hurricane season. There are apparently six thousand families still in “trailer parks.” Many trailers are still in front of ruined houses.

When asked of the demolition of projects that could have provided temporary housing for citizens, the reply came, “bad timing, isn’t it?” You can’t make this stuff up, you know? I should also point out that the Mayor of New Orleans apparently knew nothing of this summit.

Let us be clear that our Diocese is committed to the ministry of housing. We are not just about building houses but homes. We seek the transformation of lives and the improvement of neighborhoods.

Our JERICHO ROAD EPISCOPAL HOUSING INITIATIVE continues to build new houses in the Central City neighborhood. We are partnered with many in this ministry. JERICHO ROAD is also involved in “gap financing” and homeowner education to help transform renters into owners. JERICHO ROAD depends upon the generosity of others for its funding. This ministry of the Diocese, Christ Church Cathedral, New Orleans, and Episcopal Relief and Development is recognized as a leader in rebuilding our city. A new opportunity for consideration by the JERICHO ROAD Board is to move into refurbishing rental property in Central City. This move could provide affordable rental property: a move that speaks directly to the urgent request of FEMA and HUD.

In a separate and distinct ministry, the Diocese continues to clean and rebuild houses ruined by the floodwaters. This ministry is funded in large measure by Episcopal Relief and Development but must increasingly depend upon the generosity of individuals. Katie Mears and her team of trained college interns head up this ministry. Volunteers from around the country continue to give of their time and talents to make this happen. Since so many have not received Road Home funds, the Diocese has been providing the materials for many of these rebuilds. The results are amazing and the generosity of those with whom we have worked is heartwarming. When the Road Home funds have finally come to those with whom we have worked, we have seen an outpouring of generosity that is amazing.

Even though the ideas I put forward in the public housing debate did not prevail, I want all to know that our Diocese stands committed to safe and dignified housing in our city. A loss in one area is often an opportunity in another. God is good.

Bishop Jenkins

I'm quite proud of the leadership that Bishop Jenkins and his staff have shown in care and concern for those who suffered loss after Katrina and the federal flood. The Diocese of Louisiana is doing great work in the recovery effort in Louisiana.

It's probably not a good time of the year to suggest further donations for, by now, many folks are maxed out in their spending, nevertheless, here's the link to donate to the Jericho Road project. More information on the program can be found here.