"The Loss Of A Virtual Friend"

But as I pondered the loss I became aware of something. I have never met Gideon in person. This connection of ideas, and words, and a willingness to dialog about it was entirely virtual. Our book club exchanges were all video based. And our chats were all textual. That’s it. Gideon was the textbook definition of a virtual friend. But I felt his loss as though he were someone I had met. I felt the loss the same as those who I have lost in my life. The image of God, reflected in Gideon, was now gone.

And that's the truth. I still miss the image of God reflected in Roseann.

From Jonathan Brink at Missio Dei.

Thanks to Ann for the link.

Story Of The Day - Purple Madonna

One time on Hollywood Boulevard I saw
a young girl with a baby. It was a crisp
winter morning & her hair shone dark
purple in the sun. She was panhandling
outside the Holiday Inn & the door clerk
came out & told her to be on her way & I
wondered if anyone would recognize the
Christ child if they happened to meet. I
remember thinking it's not like there are
any published pictures & purple seemed
like a good color for a Madonna so I gave
her a dollar just in case.


From StoryPeople.

O Rex Gentium

December 22

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

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!


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.

Antiphon sung by the Dominican student brothers at Oxford.

Text from Fish Eaters.

Murphy's Lesser Known Dictums...

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

He who laughs last, thinks slowest.

Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.

Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.

The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.

The things that come to those who wait will be the things left by those who got there first.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

The shin bone is a device for finding furniture in a dark room.

A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.

When you go into court, you are putting yourself In the hands of 12 people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty.


Thanks to Ann.

THE LONGEST NIGHT OR BLUE CHRISTMAS

 

Tonight, many churches will celebrate "Longest Night" or "Blue Christmas" services. From Episcopal Life.

During these shortest days and longest nights of the year, many Episcopal Church congregations are offering services meant to bring comfort to those who struggle to find the joy of the Advent and Christmas seasons.

Often called Blue Christmas or Longest Night services, many take place the evening of December 21, the night of the winter solstice, and are designed for people who are coping with loss. Those people hear the Christmas song that describes "the most wonderful time of the year with the kids jingle belling and everyone telling you 'Be of good cheer'" but instead feel they are living the lyrics of the 1957 hit "Blue Christmas" when Elvis Presley sings "I'll have a blue Christmas without you, I'll be so blue just thinking about you."

 

We hold before God:
those for whom life is very difficult;
those who have difficult decisions to make , and who honestly do not know the right thing to do.

We hold before God:
those who have difficult tasks to do and to face, and who fear they may fail in them;
those who have difficult temptations to face, and who know only too well that they may fall to them, if they try to meet them alone.

We hold before God:
those who know that they can be their own worst enemies.

We hold before God:
those who have difficult people to work with;
those who have to suffer unjust treatment, unfair criticism, unappreciated work.

We hold before God:
those who are sad because someone they loved has died;
and any who are disappointed in something for which they hoped very much.

William Barclay

From Celtic Daily Prayer.

H/T to Nicholas Knisely at The Lead for the reminder.

"...because I love God...."

Stephen Bates, who formerly wrote for the Guardian on religious affairs and apparently sometimes still does, became an agnostic during his tenure as a reporter on matters religious. What a sad commentary.

Bates' latest article in the Guardian is bitter-sweet. Despite the seeming best efforts of certain leaders of the Church of England to spread confusion and dismay in their church, the people in the pews and the priests who serve them carry on because as:

"One senior London cleric, himself in a gay partnership, says: "We are asked to make sacrifices of relationships, of part of our lives, that are unimaginable to our heterosexual colleagues, which they would never be asked to make. There is a failure to stand up for honesty, against prejudice, that is quite horrible. I stay because I love God and love the church, but it is like being in an abusive relationship."

Once again, although I know that Archbishop Rowan Williams is the primer inter pares of the world-wide "Anglican Communion", I'd advise him to direct more of his attention to tending to his own garden. The ABC should be aware that his critical words and actions directed toward other churches in the "AC" for supporting couples who faithfully love one another, whatever their sexuality, and his weak words to church leaders who support draconian laws to punish same-sex couples who love one another, negatively affect the members, both lay and clergy, of his own Church of England. Does the ABC suffer from the delusion that the members of his own church in faithful same-sex relationships and their supporters don't take his words and actions to heart? The statement above from the senior cleric should be enough for him to shed the delusion.

The entire article is worth reading.

H/T to Doorman-Priest and Torey Lightcap at The Lead for the link to the article.

Feast Of Thomas The Apostle

"The Incredulity of Saint Thomas" - Caravaggio, 1601-02 - Sanssouci, Potsdam

Readings:

Psalm 126
Habakkuk 2:1-4
Hebrews 10:35--11:1
John 20:24-29


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

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.


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.

Grandmère Mimi 4/18/07


Image from Web Gallery of Art.

O Oriens

December 21

O Oriens, splendor lucis æternæ, et sol justitiæ:
veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

O Dayspring, Brightness of the everlasting light,
Son of justice, come to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death!


Isaiah 9:2

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
on them light has shined.


Antiphon sung by the Dominican student brothers at Oxford.

Text from Fish Eaters.

Garden District Holiday Tour Of Homes

 

Above is the Sinclair house, built in the late 1850s, perhaps designed by James Gallier, Jr. or Henry Howard, two well-known architects of the period. In 1935, in the midst of the depression, the house sold for $500. Imagine. Inside, the house is furnished with French antiques of museum quality. To say that the interior decor is opulent is close to an understatement. I'd have no trouble imagining that I was inside Le Petit Trianon. I did not take pictures inside any of the houses, with one exception, because no one else was taking pictures.

 

The photo above is the exception, a photo of Carl Mack, who played Christmas music on his xylophone in the Sinclair house. After I took the first picture, Carl stopped playing and struck a pose for me. In each house, we were treated to a performance by live musicians. I promised Carl a plug, so if you would like him to perform at your party, you can inquire at Carl Mack Presents.

 

The Dickie Brennan home, built around 1884. Dickie is a member of the Brennan restaurant family of Brennan's Restaurant and Commander's Palace fame. Dickie owns The Palace Café, Dickie Brennans's Steak House, and Bourbon House Seafood & Oyster Bar. When Dickie opened his steak house restaurant, there was an intra-family feud about the Brennan name trademark that was decided in the US Supreme Court. Dickie was allowed to use his name in the steak house, which seems only fair.

 

The Toby-Westfeldt house was the oldest home on the tour and is the oldest house in the Garden District, dating to 1838.

On one wall in the house is a portrait of a man wearing a white linen suit. The outfit is soooo New Orleans. The linen suit and the blue and white striped seersucker suit were the summer uniforms of the businessmen in the olden days. In fact, even today, I see men in seersucker suits from time to time.

We visited six of the eight houses on the tour, before our feet gave out, and the houses began to run together in our heads. The tour is always enjoyable, but I don't believe we have ever visited all the houses. Last year, we missed only one.

If I could afford it, I'd like to have a house similar to the example pictured below. The home was not on the tour, but because I love the style, I took a picture. Many similar houses can be found throughout the Garden District and in other of the older parts of New Orleans. The description of the style of architecture of the house is below the picture.

 

Double-Gallery House
1820-1850. Found in the Lower Garden District, Garden District, Uptown, Esplanade Ridge. Two-story structure raised on low brick piers. Side-gabled or hipped roof. Structure set back from property line. Covered two-story galleries framed by columns supporting entablature. Asymmetrical arrangement of facade openings.

To learn more about the fabulous architecture found throughout New Orleans, visit the Preservation Resource Center at: www.prcno.org or book a trip to New Orleans and see this treasure trove filled with architectural gems.

From NewOrleansOnline.

Photo of the Toby-Westfeldt house from Tulane University Archives.

Two New Pope Saints?

From the Wall Street Journal:

Pope Benedict XVI signed a decree on Saturday recognizing the "heroic virtues" of Pope John Paul II and Pope Pius XII, a move that advances both of the late pontiffs along the path to sainthood.

Pope Benedict was widely expected to approve the candidacy of John Paul II, who he placed Vatican fast-track to sainthood shortly after the cries of "santo subito, or "sainthood now," rang out during his funeral in the spring of 2005.

Pope Benedict's decision to approve the heroic virtues of Pius XII, however, came as a surprise. Supporters of Pius XII, who led the Roman Catholic Church during World War II, have long pushed for his sainthood. The campaign has stumbled over the years, however, amid criticism from Jewish groups who say Pius XII didn't take sufficient action to challenge the deportation of European Jews to Nazi death camps.

Both popes still have a number of hurdles to clear before they reach sainthood. Pope Benedict and Vatican officials will review evidence that each man intervened from beyond the grave to perform miracles. One papal-approved miracle is required for a person to reach beatification, whereby the candidate is declared "blessed." A second papal-approved miracle is necessary for canonization, or sainthood.

I burst out laughing at the image of the two popes clearing hurdles from beyond the grave. And the miracle proof requirement for sainthood is ludicrous.

Jewish groups are not the only people who question Pius XII's weak protests against the Nazis during the Holocaust. Many thinking Gentiles have questions, also. The Vatican says if Pius XII had spoken out strongly, he would have made the situation worse.

From Yahoo News:

The Anti-Defamation League and American Jewish Committee said the move was premature given the Vatican still hasn't opened up to outside historians its secret archives from Pius' 1939-1958 pontificate. The Vatican says the 16 million files won't be ready until 2014 at the earliest.

"While it is obviously up to the Vatican to determine who its saints are, the church's repeated insistence that it seeks mutually respectful ties with the Jewish community ought to mean taking our sensitivities into account on this most crucial historical era," said David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee.

Abraham Foxman, a Holocaust survivor and the Anti-Defamation League's national director, said he was disappointed that the pope had taken the decision while the historical jury is still out on Pius' record.

"I can't understand the rush, especially while there are still survivors who are alive who feel the issue very, very deeply and are being told the files need time to be processed. What's the imperative?"

What if explosive new and negative information is found in the Vatican archives for the period?

Pius XII and John-Paul II may now be called venerable.