IN COLD BLOOD

Last night, I watched about 24 minutes of the Republican candidates for president forum on MSNBC, and that was all I could take. I missed the portion of the debate shown in the video. The applause at the mention of 234 executions which took place during the terms of Rick Perry as governor of Texas is chilling, even before Perry's explanation that he doesn't struggle with the executions, at which point the audience erupts in wild applause.

I remember my horror at reading Truman Capote's book In Cold Blood, about the murder of the Clutter family in Kansas by Richard Hickock and Perry Smith. Each time I hear about a state execution I think of the title of Capote's book. What is a state execution if not killing in cold blood?

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

A PRAYER FOR THE AGES - ÓSCAR ROMERO

It helps, now and then, to step back
and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is another way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders,
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own
Amen

Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (15 August 1917 – 24 March 1980)[1] was a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador. He became the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador, succeeding Luis Chávez. He was assassinated on 24 March 1980. Wikipedia

PLEASE PRAY...

Joel is in the hospital. He has chronic and serious health issues. If you follow their story at Margaret's blog, Leave It Lay Where Jesus Flang It, Margaret lost her job; they are now trying to sell their house; and day before yesterday was their 30th wedding anniversary. In the face of all their trials, Margaret posts:

Paul (to the Philippians beginning at 2:1)

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus...

Margaret: I consider these words to be a description of the Christian life-style... but was Paul himself ever able to live them? No... which is where the glory comes in --the glory. And that Paul himself was never able to live them makes them not less true, but more true and more the glory.

At least, that is my hope --the glimpses... of glory....

...but all of us do get glimpses of it... every now and then...

The great riddle of the Gospel --it's all ours, not because of what we do, but because we are loved --so we should try to do... but even what we do in faith will need redemption... so it is all grace. All is grace.

From the Book of Common Prayer for which I am so very grateful:

O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant Joel the help of your power, that his sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us pray for both Joel and for Margaret. The prayer that comes to mind is from Morning Prayer for individuals in the Book of Common Prayer.

Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

From the Houston Chronicle:

Texas wildfires claim 2 lives

A wildfire is forcing authorities to evacuate an area of more than 2,000 residents in Waller County this afternoon, according to the Waller County Sheriff's Office. The area being evacuated is south of FM 1488 between Kickapoo Road and the Montgomery County line.

---

Fed by wind and parched vegetation, wildfires continued to rage Tuesday through Central Texas, where an out-of-control blaze claimed two lives and 550 homes, and in the Magnolia area, where officials ordered the evacuation of more than 4,000 households.

Sadly, that's not the end of it. Read it all.

O God, creator and preserver of all mankind, we pray for those who died. May they rest in peace and rise in glory. May God give comfort, consolation, and the peace that passes understanding to all who grieve.

We pray for those who lost their homes, that they will receive help in their time of need and distress, and that God will give them strength and courage to rebuild their lives and their homes.

We pray for the safety of the firefighters.

We pray for all in the path of Texas wildfires, especially for the sick and disabled and those who care for them; for all who watch and wait in uncertainty; we ask you to comfort and relieve them and bring them safely through the fires. And this we pray for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.

FRAN MOVED!

Our friend Fran moved her blog to WordPress. Her new address:

There Will Be Bread

CARDINAL LEVADA TO RETIRE?

From California Catholic Daily:

Italian newspaper says former San Francisco archbishop wants this year to be his last as guardian of Catholic orthodoxy.

Pope Benedict XVI will need to find a new prefect for the Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith – “the most delicate department head of the Roman Curia” – early next year, the Italian daily La Stampa reports.

The newspaper is known for its “Vatican Insider” project, staffed by experienced journalists well connected to sources inside the Holy See. In its Aug. 25 edition, La Stampa’s “Vatican Insider” reported that Cardinal Joseph Levada, who turned 75 on June 15, has made it known “he does not wish to remain in the position beyond the end of 2011.”

I checked a translated version of “Vatican Insider” at La Stampa and could not find the article on the possible retirement of Cardinal Levada, but that does not mean it isn't there. Well, we'll see. If, indeed, the cardinal will retire, who will be his replacement?

Under the previous pope, John Paul II, the position of prefect of the CDF was held by the present pope as Cardinal Ratzinger.

Quotes from Cardinal Levada:

Catholic theology does not recognize the right to dissent, if by that we mean adopting conclusions which are contrary to the clear teachings of the authoritative, infallible magisterium and which are presented to the public in such a way as to constitute equivalently an alternative personal magisterium.
....

On Protestant ecclesial communities: "According to Catholic doctrine, these Communities do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived of a constitutive element of the Church. These ecclesial Communities which, specifically because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood, have not preserved the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be called 'Churches' in the proper sense"

Thanks to Ann V. for the link.

UPDATE: Thanks to Paul the BB, here's the link to the article in La Stampa.

TWO QUESTIONS FOR THE DAY

1. Will Archbishop Rowan Williams come to rue the day that he rammed the Anglican Covenant through General Synod of the Church of England?

2. If the answer to the above question is, 'Yes', will the archbishop ever admit to his rue?

DON'T BLAME ME - BLAME BOROWITZ

Borowitz Report - Rabid Dog Briefly Mistaken for Tea Party Candidate

Read it all.

I know. Wicked, wicked, wicked.

LYME REGIS - PART ONE - WHY I WANTED TO VISIT

Click on the pictures for the larger view.

Ever since I first read Jane Austen's novels starting at the age of 16, I've wanted to visit Lyme Regis on the southwest coast of England. In Austen's novel, Persuasion, during a visit to Lyme Regis and a walk along the Cobb, Louisa Musgrove, a character in the novel, slips and falls and suffers a serious injury on the treacherous (at least to me, and with reason considering what happened to Louisa!) stone steps on the side of the Cobb. The fall drastically alters the plotline in a manner as to give the readers the conclusion to the novel which is thought by many to be the only proper ending. "It was (you may say) satisfactory, " poor Louisa, notwithstanding.

In my many visits to England, I never made it to Lyme Regis until this past July, when my friend Cathy and I made our trip by car to the West Country. Needless to say, my visit there was one of the high points of my trip to England. I was nearly beside myself with joy and disbelief that I was finally there.

The picture to the left is a scan of an illustration of Louisa's fall from a limited edition copy of Persuasion, signed by the illustrator, Tony Buonpastore. I bought the book for the introduction by Louis Auchincloss, many of whose novels of upper-class New York I'd read. At first, I didn't care for the illustrations, but they've grown on me.

From Persuasion:

There was too much wind to make the high part of the new Cobb pleasant for the ladies, and they agreed to get down the steps to the lower, and all were contented to pass quietly and carefully down the steep flight, excepting Louisa; she must be jumped down them by Captain Wentworth. In all their walks, he had had to jump her from the stiles; the sensation was delightful to her. The hardness of the pavement for her feet, made him less willing upon the present occasion; he did it, however. She was safely down, and instantly, to show her enjoyment, ran up the steps to be jumped down again. He advised her against it, thought the jar too great; but no, he reasoned and talked in vain, she smiled and said, "I am determined I will:" he put out his hands; she was too precipitate by half a second, she fell on the pavement on the Lower Cobb, and was taken up lifeless! There was no wound, no blood, no visible bruise; but her eyes were closed, she breathed not, her face was like death. The horror of the moment to all who stood around!

Well, not to appear heartless, Louisa was not quite lifeless. She only appeared to be. As Lady Catherine de Bourgh said in another of Austen's novels, "Obstinate, headstrong girl!"

After seeing the movie The French Lieutenant's Woman and reading John Fowles novel of the same title from which the story in the movie was taken, I was even more desirous of a visit to Lyme Regis to see and walk the Cobb. The film and the book caught hold of my imagination and stayed with me through many years. In 1982, when Tom and I made our first and very romantic two-week trip (We'd never been away from our three children for that long!) to England, we both wanted to go to Lyme Regis, him also because he was intrigued by the movie, but we never made it there.

A few months before I went to England this year, I went to a book fair at my grandson's school and saw the novel Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier. Listed amongst her other published books was The Girl With the Pearl Earring, which I thought I had read and liked, so I bought the book. But I discovered that I had not read the other book but had rather seen the movie based on the novel of the imagined life of the girl in the gorgeous Vermeer painting of the same name. Are you still with me?

Remarkable Creatures is a fictionalized account of the life of Mary Anning, born in 1799, a fossil hunter from a poor family in Lyme Regis. Mary began to search for fossils at an early age, with her father and older brother, Joseph, both uneducated, as her teachers. Otherwise, Mary was entirely self-taught, and she had "the eye" for finding fossils. Mary discovered the first plesiosaur fossil skeleton and made other major finds, such as the first specimen of Ichthyosaurus to be known in London scientific circles, which she and her brother found when she was only 10 or 12 years old. Although many of her discoveries are in museums, she is often not credited for her finds.

The small ammonite fossils, called curies (curiosities), which she and her brother collected, cleaned, polished, and then sold to visitors to Lyme Regis helped the family survive after the death of their father.

Mary was not the only person to have the eye. As we walked on the beach at Lyme Regis, Cathy looked down and found the fossil pictured below right at our feet, and she so very kindly gave the stone to me as a memento of our visit. How generous of her! Thank you, Cathy. I treasure my curie. We never saw another fossil on the beach for the rest of our time there, and I've read that we were very fortunate to find any fossil at all during tourist season.

Like the long-winded lady that I am, I've run on to make this post quite lengthy, but I've told you only about books, movies, and fossil-hunting and precious little about Lyme Regis, so I've decided to tell the story in two parts (three if you count my silly post). Besides, I have more pictures of the beach and the town that I want to post, so the account of our visit to Lyme Regis is to be continued....

The University of California at Berkeley provides a brief biography of Mary Anning.

Image of Mary Anning from Wikipedia.

HAPPY LABOR (AND UNEMPLOYMENT) DAY

Why we even bother any longer to pay lip service by setting aside a day to honor those who work, I can't say. The workers, those who are lucky enough to have jobs, have been trampled upon time and again here in these United States. Thus the national day of honor seems ever more hypocritical each year when it rolls around. Who amongst the powerful gives a shit about the workers? Let them stand up and be counted and show us by deeds and not just by empty words.

The power of unions as a political force, except for the public employee unions, has been emasculated by laws which weakened them and allowed the giant global corporations to have their way. Even now, politicians are working overtime to destroy any power that the public service unions retain. So the Woody Guthrie video and the prayers for workers and for the unemployed that follow are all I have for you today, my readers. I'm flying on a wing and a prayer in the hope that, despite all evidence to the contrary, things will get better.

Almighty God, you have so linked our lives one with another that all we do affects, for good or ill, all other lives: So guide us in the work we do, that we may do it not for self alone, but for the common good; and, as we seek a proper return for our own labor, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out of work; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Heavenly Father, we remember before you those who suffer want and anxiety from lack of work. Guide the people of this land so to use our public and private wealth that all may find suitable and fulfilling employment, and receive just payment for their labor; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

PLEASE PRAY FOR JOEL AND MARGARET

Joel is in the hospital in the cardiac ward, and he has other chronic and serious health issues. If you follow their story at Margaret's blog, Leave It Lay Where Jesus Flang It, Margaret lost her job; they are now trying to sell their house; and today is their 30th wedding anniversary. Margaret says:

And, I pray for my beloved --that his grief and frustration with his body do not overwhelm him, that he may be given a path to stability, and that he may bring to mind all the true blessings we share.

From the Book of Common Prayer for which I am so very grateful:

O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant Joel the help of your power, that his sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us pray for both Joel and for Margaret. The prayer that comes to mind is from Morning Prayer for individuals in the Book of Common Prayer.

Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

When my friends have trouble upon trouble come upon them, I'm all too often left without words. Such is the case now with Joel and Margaret, except to say that I will hold them in my heart and in my prayers.