Tobias' Icon Of St. James Of Jerusalem

"The Mother of God" - Tobias Haller

Tobias Haller and others will come to think of me as one of his groupies, if I continue to highlight his words and his work on my wee blog. I wonder how he feels about an elderly lady groupie. If you have not done so, you must visit his blog to view the most recent example of his iconography. It is exquisite. I did not post it here, because I want you to go to his website to see it and read his account of writing the icon.

Obviously, that's not St. James pictured above. That's another of his icons, "The Mother of God". If you click on "icons", you will find his other works, all of which are very fine. Tobias says that we are not to look upon an icon as a work of art, but as a reflection of the very presence of God. And I do. I do! But I can't help but admire the face of La Madonna and the beautiful colors and drape of the fabric and the gold leaf in the halo and the manner in which all of it comes together.

The web page links to an article by Tobias titled "How Icons Are Written", and to his sermon on icons titled "Image and Likeness". From the sermon:

So the simple four-letter word icon carries a lot of weight! In the orthodox tradition, an icon is not simply a religious picture intended to remind you of some saint or other. Any more than the Eucharist is simply a memorial celebration for our dear departed friend and teacher Jesus. For just as the Eucharist makes Christ present to us in a very real way, in bread and wine and in our hearts as sisters and brothers gathered in his name, where he has promised he would be in our midst; so too the icon does not simply provoke a memory, but invokes a presence, for the icon is a window into heaven.

Please. Read the whole sermon.

I finish with words from JCF, which I copied from the comments at Tobias' blog:

Once again, Tobias, I stand in awe: actor, composer, iconographer, first-rate Biblical scholar. That you couldn't play Center in the NBA is only fair! ;-) JCF

We Pray And We Vote

After my rather dispirited post on voting and my anxious mood about the coming election, Margaret reminded me in the comments of the following from the Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty God, to whom we must account for all our powers and privileges: Guide the people of the United States in the election of officials and representatives, that, by faithful administration and wise laws, the rights of all may be protected and our nation be enabled to fulfill your purposes: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I thank Margaret for the prayer for guidance for us all, which I find quite comforting.

Lord, guide us to Obama. Well, don't you think that it's obvious to God who should be elected? Or am straying into Pat Robertson territory?

All joking aside, it's a fine prayer. It's No. 24 on page 822. She suggest prayers Nos. 27 and 28 on pages 823 and 824, also.

Please Pray For Roseann

In an email this morning:

Morning Mimi,

Would you mind posting a prayer request for me? This is for Roseann who is undergoing dialysis, and she has discovered the port for the dialysis is infected and is in surgery to probably have the port removed and a new spot opened. she asked for prayers. Could you pass this on to Maddy too?

Thanks,

Suzanne Taber

Suzanne, thanks for letting us know. Give my love to Roseann.

UPDATE: Being Peace has left a new comment on your post "Please Pray For Roseann":

Hi everyone! Turns out I had a fairly minor complication that they were able to fix both quickly and painlessly! I am home and fine and grateful for all the prayers and support!

Love to all, Roseann

Thanks be to God, Roseann. The prayers worked quickly.

New Obama - Biden Seal

For your nighttime comtemplation. Sweet dreams.

From Doug.

I Voted!

 

"And when one glides low over a mirror-smooth body of water...!" - Paul the BB

Yesterday, I took advantage of the early voting procedure. There was no crowd, only a steady stream of voters making their way to the electronic machines, which I do not trust to record the votes properly. Nor do I have confidence that they will not be hacked. It's been proved that it can be done, and that it's not all that difficult. But it's all I have, so I voted.

I voted for Barack Obama (D) - Joe Biden (D) for president. Yay! It's done.

I voted for Mary Landrieu (D) for the Senate.

I voted for Chip Badeaux (R) rather than Beau Brooks (R) for the vacant position on the Thibodaux City Council. As you see, both are Republicans, but for a city office-holder, party doesn't really matter all that much. I know Chip, but I don't know Beau, and I'd find it a little hard to vote for someone named Beau, unless I knew him. How can a parent name a boy the equivalent of handsome? Suppose they grow up to be ugly. I know a young woman named Jolie, and fortunately she grew up to be pretty. But it's a risk.

I voted for some of the several constitutional amendments to the state constitution and against others. The Louisiana legislators think they must put everything into the constitution, rather than just pass laws. As a result, it is a bloated document, which will soon need to be redone in a constitutional convention. They should stop.

Now for a little soul-baring. I am a wreck, and I will be a wreck until the election is over. I relate well to Larry David's essay posted by Fran.

I can't take much more of this. Two weeks to go, and I'm at the end of my rope. I can't work. I can eat, but mostly standing up.
....

Five times a day I'll still say to someone, "I don't know what I'm going to do if McCain wins." Of course, the reality is I'm probably not going to do anything. What can I do? I'm not going to kill myself.
....

I just don't like what I've turned into -- and frankly I wasn't that crazy about me even before the turn. This election is having the same effect on me as marijuana. All of my worst qualities have been exacerbated. I'm paranoid, obsessive, nervous, and totally mental. It's one long, intense, bad trip. I need to come down. Soon.

Leave out the marijuana and Larry David is me, or I, or whatever. My bad trip comes without the aid of psychoactive substances. I want to sleep, sleep, sleep. Wake me when it's over to rejoice or to weep.

If you're wondering what the picture has to do with the post, the answer is nothing. The egret was in my neighbor's front yard, and it was a lovely thing to see. I see many egrets, but not often in front yards. The sight cheered me a little, and I wanted to post one of the pictures of the beautiful bird. I've named him/her Beau.

The election has done its work. It's made me crazy. Good thing I voted first.

"Small Town Blues" - Ruthie Foster

A resonatin' song, I tell ya.

J. C. Recants

Promoted from the comments in response to the post Recantation:

Blogger Tobias Haller said...

Greetings in Me.

After careful consideration, I realize I ought not to have placed myself in conscientious objection to the wisdom of the Scribes and Pharisees. They sit in Moses' seat, after all, and I'm just a Galilean Carpenter. I deeply regret that I may have offended them and caused any unrest among the people. Nothing was further from my mind. Special apologies to the Governor of Judea, under whose excellent guidance the peaceful reign of Caesar can continue uninterrupted by zealotry. I am very sorry if anything I said was taken in the wrong way, leading to suggestions I was attempting to usurp any kind of earthly authority or rule. I was speaking metaphorically. I'm particularly concerned that last week's demonstration and donkey-ride may have given people the wrong idea. I tried to hail a taxi, but people insisted I use the donkey. I didn't mean anything by it.

Can I go now?

J.C.

Recantation

Tom has left a new comment on your post "And Here's Another - Fr. Steve Niskanen":

From the San Gabriel Mission Weekly Bulletin, dated October 19, 2008...

"Dear Parishioners of San Gabriel Mission:

The Peace of Christ be with you!

Two weeks ago, I presented in a bulletin letter an overview of the three Propositions (4, 6 and 8) on which our California Bishops’ Conference has taken an official position. I presented these positions in summary, but then added my own personal opinion regarding Proposition 8, framing it as a matter of my conscience. I regret and apologize for placing my opinions on the same level as our Bishops, “the authentic teachers of the faith.” I fully respect and support our Bishops’ position that Proposition 8 does not intend to infringe on the human and legal rights of our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters; rather it seeks to preserve the restriction of the term “marriage” to the complementary, life-long partnership of the whole of life, open to the gift of children, between one man and one woman.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Steve Niskanen, CMF, Pastor."

The peace of Christ be with you Fr. Steve.

My emphasis added in the letter. The bolded words of Fr. Steve are pure BS. I don't mean to be harsh on him, but they sound very much like a forced confession out of a Soviet gulag. His position in the church will be adversely affected anyway. He's a marked man for having made his original statement.

Let us pray for Fr. Steve.

Tom, thanks for calling my attention to his change of mind.

"Oui, On Peut! - Yes We can! - Obama Zydeco"

Elizabeth told me about this, and as soon as I saw and listened, I had to have it. I stole it from Jon. Is this not great? As Jon says, "I have never been so proud of my homeland." Why didn't I think of saying "Yes we can" in French?

H/T to Jon at The Ultimate Word

Johnieb Is Back!

Go see at Here Still Running.

Welcome back, you old rascal. We missed you while you were away. Don't you be running off like that again.