Feast Of St. Mary The Virgin

"St Thomas receiving the Virgin Mary's girdle"

Mary’s Song of Praise

And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

Luke 1:46-55

Readings:

Isaiah 61:10-11
Psalm 34 or 34:1-9
Galatians 4:4-7
Luke 1:46-55

PRAYER

O God, who have taken to yourself the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of your incarnate on: Grant that we, who have been redeemed by his blood, may share with her the glory of your eternal kingdom; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

The Roman Catholic Church, celebrates today as the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Pope Pius XII declared the bodily assumption of Mary into heaven to be a dogma of the church. "The Assumption of Mary into heaven is also taught by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Oriental and Coptic Orthodox Churches, where it is known as the Dormition of the Theotokos." (Wiki)

Image from Wiki

Oh No!

A successful rancher died and left everything to his devoted wife. She was a very good-looking woman and determined to keep the ranch, but knew very little about ranching, so she decided to place an ad in the newspaper for a ranch hand.

Two cowboys applied for the job. One was gay and the other a drunk. She thought long and hard about it, and when no one else applied she decided to hire the gay guy, figuring it would be safer to have him around the house than the drunk. He proved to be a hard worker who put in long hours every day and knew a lot about ranching. For weeks, the two of them worked, and the ranch was doing very well.

Then one day, the rancher's widow said to the hired hand, 'You have done a really good job, and the ranch looks great. You should go into town and kick up your heels.' The hired hand readily agreed and went into town one Saturday night.

One o'clock came, however, and he didn't return. Two o'clock and no hired hand. Finally he returned around two-thirty, and upon entering the room, he found the rancher's widow sitting by the fireplace with a glass of wine, waiting for him.

She quietly called him over to her. 'Unbutton my blouse and take it off,' she said. Trembling, he did as she directed. 'Now take off my boots.' He did as she asked, ever so slowly. 'Now take off my socks.' He removed each gently and placed them neatly by her boot s. 'Now take off my skirt.' He slowly unbuttoned it, constantly watching her eyes in the fire light. 'Now take off my bra.' Again, with trembling hands, he did as he was told and dropped it to the floor.

Then she looked at him and said, 'If you ever wear my clothes into town again, you're fired.'

Blame it on Doug.

Fernando Botero

Today we will go to the New Orleans Museum of Art to see the "The Baroque World of Fernando Botero Exhibit."

Fernando Botero (born 1932) is a painter, sculptor, and draftsman who highlights the comedy of human life-moving or wry, baroque in expression, sometimes with a mocking observation, sometimes with a deep, elementary emotion. Working in a broad range of media, Botero has created a world of his own, at once accessible and enigmatic, with a particular blend of violence and beauty. Fernando Botero has spent most of his years as an artist away from his native country, Colombia, but his art has maintained an uninterrupted link to Latin America.

In the afternoon at the museum, a Panamanian dance group will perform traditional dances. As I enjoy the dancers, I'll be thinking of Padre Mickey and the Lovely Mona.


Panama Without Borders Folkloric Dance Group, comprised of Panamanians residing on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, is dedicated to preserving, presenting, and promoting Panamanian culture through traditions, music and dances.

Hasta luego!

A Stunning Senior Moment

Apparently, a self-important college freshman attending a recent football game took it upon himself to explain to a senior citizen sitting next to him why it was impossible for the older generation to understand his generation.

'You grew up in a different world, actually an almost primitive one' the student said, loud enough for many of those nearby to hear. 'The young people of today grew up with television, jet planes, space travel, man walking on the moon. Our space probes have visited Mars. We have nuclear energy, ships and electric and hydrogen cars, cell phones. Computers with light-speed processing... And more.'

After a brief silence the senior citizen responded as follows:

'You're right, son. We didn't have those things when we were young ... so we invented them. Now, you arrogant little twit, what are you doing for the next
generation?'

The applause was amazing.

Don't blame me, blame Susan S.

Cardinal In Cappa Magna

I don't think the train is quite long enough, but chacun à son goût.

Thanks to Lapin, my liturgical vestment consultant.

This Is Delicious!

Please watch the video of the foolishness spouted by our Louisiana gal, Cokie Roberts, on Obama's "vacation" in Hawaii at Crooks and Liars.

And the smackdown by Rep. Abercrombie from Hawaii:

"She's a bit of a fool that's the only thing you can say," said Rep. Neil Abercrombie. " Don't forget Cokie Roberts and the whole Washington crowd live in a kind of an incestuous relationship to one another, they talk to one another, they see one another, they know nothing about ordinary people."

Ouch! Oh, that she'd do our state prouder from her prominent position as an insider Washington, DC, pundit. Watch the video of the smackdown from Abercrombie and Senator Daniel Akaka of Hawaii at KGBM.

Withholding The Good News - The Letters

From the Times, concerning the recently published letters written by the Archbishop of Canterbury some years ago:

As Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Williams recommitted the Anglican Communion to its orthodox position that homosexual practice is incompatible with Scripture at the Lambeth Conference, which closed on Sunday.

However, in an exchange of letters with an evangelical Christian, written eight years ago when he was Archbishop of Wales, he described his belief that biblical passages criticising homosexual sex were not aimed at people who were gay by nature.

He argued that scriptural prohibitions were addressed to heterosexuals looking for sexual variety. He wrote: “I concluded that an active sexual relationship between two people of the same sex might therefore reflect the love of God in a way comparable to marriage, if and only if it had about it the same character of absolute covenanted faithfulness.” Dr Williams described his view as his “definitive conclusion” reached after 20 years of study and prayer. He drew a distinction between his own beliefs as a theologian and his position as a church leader, for which he had to take account of the traditionalist view.

The statement in the letters includes the GOOD NEWS of the archbishop's view that same-sex sexuality in faithful, committed relationships "reflect[s] the love of God in a way comparable to marriage". The archbishop has labeled this view as his "definitive conclusion". How, in the name of Christ, can the Archbishop of Canterbury refrain from shouting this good news from the housetops? Not only gay and lesbian folks, but the entire world needs to hear this message from the leader of the Anglican Communion. He believes this good news, but he will not proclaim it. He repeatedly scolds those churches in the communion which have, to a degree, attempted to act on this good news, because others in the Anglican Communion take offense at the proclamation of this good news.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is a leader. Why does he take the "traditionalist view", which is no longer his own "definitive conclusion", as his guiding light for moving the Anglican Communion forward? Why doesn't he lead? What kind of leadership is this? He has come to a vital and important conclusion about the love of God that could serve to heal, comfort, and console many within and without the church community. Proclaiming this good news could even save lives. Surely, his ministry includes teaching and enlightening the flock, doing his best to lead them to a deeper knowledge and appreciation of the message of love that Jesus proclaimed. Why keep this treasure, this golden nugget of wisdom, buried in the field?

Jesus caused great offense with his message of God's all-embracing love. A good many of his own followers left, walked away. In the end, he was killed because he threatened the order of the day with his teachings, too many of which departed from traditionalist views of his day.

Rest In Peace, Lillian

 

Lillian, the rust-colored hen on the left, passed away yesterday. She belonged to my daughter's family. She lived a good life and produced her share of tasty eggs. Their two older hens have not been laying for the past couple of years, due to aging, but three new hens are coming up. From her appearance and the fact that she laid green eggs, I believe that Lillian was an Araucana chicken. My three grandsons had green eggs and ham whenever they liked.

Psalm 138 - The Inescapable God

O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord, you know it completely.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.

Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night’,
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

Why I Was Fired....

For the last company picnic, management decided that, due to liability issues, we could have alcohol, but only one (1) drink per person.

I was fired for ordering the cups.

I told another one of my stringers that I wasn't going to post jokes for a while, but some things are irresistible. Doug is irresistible.