Flash! Pope blesses singing Christmas Tree...

Just leave it to our beloved & gloriously reigning pontif Benedict XVI to bring forth profound, new insights into the Christmas tree. All of his Christmas-tide addresses at the Holy See site are must-reads, especially the homily for Christmas Eve from which this closing passage was taken:

"In Psalm 96 [95], Israel, and the Church, praises God’s grandeur manifested in creation. All creatures are called to join in this song of praise, and so the Psalm also contains the invitation: "Let all the trees of the wood sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes" (v. 12ff.). The Church reads this Psalm as a prophecy and also as a task. The coming of God to Bethlehem took place in silence. Only the shepherds keeping watch were, for a moment, surrounded by the light-filled radiance of his presence and could listen to something of that new song, born of the wonder and joy of the angels at God’s coming. This silent coming of God’s glory continues throughout the centuries. Wherever there is faith, wherever his word is proclaimed and heard, there God gathers people together and gives himself to them in his Body; he makes them his Body. God "comes". And in this way our hearts are awakened. The new song of the angels becomes the song of all those who, throughout the centuries, sing ever anew of God’s coming as a child – and rejoice deep in their hearts. And the trees of the wood go out to him and exult. The tree in Saint Peter’s Square speaks of him, it wants to reflect his splendour and to say: Yes, he has come, and the trees of the wood acclaim him. The trees in the cities and in our homes should be something more than a festive custom: they point to the One who is the reason for our joy – the God who for our sake became a child. In the end, this song of praise, at the deepest level, speaks of him who is the very tree of new-found life. Through faith in him we receive life. In the Sacrament of the Eucharist he gives himself to us – he gives us a life that reaches into eternity. At this hour we join in creation’s song of praise, and our praise is at the same time a prayer: Yes, Lord, help us to see something of the splendour of your glory. And grant peace on earth. Make us men and women of your peace. Amen."

The site also has links to some Christmas hymns from the Sistine Chapel choir.

Good King Wenceslas looked out...

Today is the Feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr. I always try to attend Mass on this day, partly because I'm always off work & so can, but mainly because it's an active reminder that Christmas is not a day, but a season - ending with the Baptism of the Lord on Jan 11. But it's even more than a season; it's a call to live every day in a new way with a completely reoriented vision & an entirely new purpose. Celine Dion sings, "Don't save it all for Christmas Day." There's plenty of need for all that peace on earth & good will among men the rest of the year, too.

As much as St. Stephen, the life & death of Wenceslaus holds lessons for us. The king of Bohemia lived in the early 900's, a time of great political unrest. His work to unify the country & make peace with Christian Germany earned him fierce enemies, including his brother Boleslav, who ambushed & murdered him. His feast day on the new Roman calendar is Sept 28.

So, while yesterday we celebrated a glorious birth, today we are reminded of the death that surely accompanies all births. However, for the disciples of Christ, this death is not the final word - "The last enemy to be destroyed is death" 1 Cor 15:26. This is our hope. This is the hope of Christmas, really.

If I had the gadget that lets me play songs on the blog, I could hook up Celine Dion's song, or a great performance of Good King Wenceslas by the Westminster Abbey choir. Maybe Santa will bring me that next year. Till then, here's the words of the carol:

Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the Feast of Stephen, when the snow laid round about, deep & crisp & even.

Brightly shown the moon that night, though the frost was cruel, when a poor man came in sight, gathering winter fuel.

K. Hither, page, & stand by me, if thou knowst it, telling, yonder peasant, who is he? Where & what his dwelling?

P. Sire, he lives a good league hence, underneath the mountain, right against the forest fence, by St. Agnes' fountain.

K. Bring me flesh & bring me wine, bring me pine logs hither. Thou & I will see him dine, when we bear them hither.

Page & monarch, forth they went, forth they went together; through the rude winds' wild lament, & the bitter weather.

P. Sire, the night is darker now, & the wind blows stronger; fails my heart, I know not how, I can go no longer.

K. Mark my footsteps good, my page; tread thou in them boldly. Thou shall find the winter's rage freeze thy blood less coldly.

In his master's steps he trod where the snow lay dinted; heat was in the very sod, which the saint had printed.

Therefore, Christian men be sure, wealth or rank possessing: Ye who now would bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing.

Hear, O heavens, & give ear, O earth!

Icons are wonderful. They are used for prayer & for teaching; hence they employ a certain standard “grammar” as to how stories are told & how things are portrayed, which makes entry into their mysteries more accessible. Most Catholics will recoil at this, but wild experimentation is forbidden, except for master iconographers who are able to progress this form of sacred art within the stream of Tradition. We must enter into their world, not twist & distort them to fit ours.

This particular icon is pretty easy to enter into. It is a “store-bought” Russian triptych of the Annunciation & the Nativity. There is a lot to ponder here.

With the doors closed, we see the angel Gabriel – the power of God – approaching Mary. Wings whooshing & feet striding, the angel carries the staff of God’s authority, his hand outstretched to impart an urgent message. The angel interrupts a surprised but receptive Mary while knitting, perhaps recalling Job 10:11+…

Thou didst clothe me with skin & flesh, & knit me together with bones & sinews. Thou hast granted me life & steadfast love; & thy care has preserved my spirit. Yet these things thou didst hide in thy heart; I know that this was thy purpose.

Kings David & Solomon look on from above. The promise God made to them to establish their house forever will be fulfilled in Mary’s child, born of the house of David. The closed doors are a reminder of how the Old Israel waited for the fulfillment of the Divine promises & the endless possibilities of the Divine Love.

As the triptych unfolds, so does the fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation for us. There is much more to ponder here than is possible in this brief space.

Hear, O heavens, & give ear, O earth: the ox & ass of Isaiah 1 have finally found their master – the Lord of a new Creation. God has finally raised up a son among men that will not disown or rebel against him. The Blessed Mother rests on a curious red cushion, her head tilted in deference to her son. The child, wrapped in bands of cloth, lies in a sarcophagus-like – or is it an altar-like? – manger within the darkness of the cave – surely a prefigurement of the sacrificial death for which he was born to endure. Abp. Sheen says that Jesus was the only man who lived his life backwards: he died first to enter into a life of glory. So even here at his birth, the iconographer calls our attention to the death of Jesus. The lesson? As glorious as the Nativity is, it is not his birth through which we have our salvation.

The angels singing Gloria!, the astrologers bearing their gifts, & the shepherds herding their sheep all make their appearance. Did you notice that no one’s hands are visible? They are all hidden in the folds of their garments. Humility? Respect? Awe in the presence of the Divine?

Above, the spiritual realm breaks into the earthly one; a beam of grace descends on the child & provides the guiding light for all.

Rejoice, the Lord is near.

What's on your tree?

You can thank Fr. Christian for inspiring this post. He has a post about Christmas trees at his place. Anyway, here's a few things on the, yes, fake tree this year:

Angels & lots of them.

Well, there's lots of these little Santa guys. Like a lot of us, Tigger's just barely hanging on! If you want your holidays to remain peaceful & serene, do not go to Savage Chickens to find out why Tigger is the only one!

Garfield pie-eyed over his new teddybear. Tweety scoots along his/her Vespa - a mid-70's Primavera 125, from the looks of it. Watch that oil/fuel ratio or you'll be getting a nice road rash this year!

Santa already brought Buzz an early present this year: givin' the Dawgs a sting. What Christmas tree is complete without a pickle?

The Blessed Mother is well-represented, naturally.

Keeping Christ in Christmas & on the Christmas tree. In my world, all tree tops should look like this. Not blinking stars, not fairy-looking angels. Like this. It symbolically points to heaven. It indicates something beyond our grasp & understanding. It points to the Mystery of the eternal & omnipotent God that became a child. It points to the Incarnation & from there to Salvation.

...

Can your blinking star do that? Didn't think so.

Yeah, about that name…

Names are important. Picking a name for a blog is no small thing. After all, people will read in these few words a complete summary of you – who you are & what makes you tick. Plus, there’s always the temptation to be a little too-cute with such a name. I wanted something eye-catching, a little up-beat sounding, & perhaps a little ambiguous – just enough so one might think, “What’s this guy about?” So, as you can see, I had pretty definitive criteria for starting out…

“Walkin' the Dog” was my first try, because as I was thinking about what to name the blog, I was – drum roll, please – walking the dog. Plus, I do a lot of thinking while Max and I are out walking. Turns out a whole bunch of other people do their thinking whilst walking their dogs, too. Back to the electronic drawing board…

As I was preparing myself for Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite one Sunday, I was reading “Prayer Before Mass” in the front of the little red missal book from Ecclesia Dei. One of the prayers is the Prayer of St. Ambrose, the 4th-century bishop of Milan who converted & baptized St. Augustine. Here is the beginning of the prayer:

O Loving Lord Jesus Christ, I, a sinner, presuming not on my own merits, but trusting in Thy mercy & goodness, with fear & trembling approach the table of Thy most sacred banquet. For I have defiled both my heart & my body with many sins, & have not kept strict guard over my mind & my tongue. Wherefore, O gracious God, O awful Majesty, I, a wretched creature, entangled in difficulties, have recourse to Thee, the font of mercy; to Thee do I fly that I may be healed, & take refuge under Thy protection. And I ardently desire to have Him as my Savior, Whom I am unable to withstand as my Judge.

I know that all that Fear of the Lord business is just soooo passé these days, but this sort of prayer really caught my eye. These early Catholics really expected you to be sorry for your sins & live an entirely different way of life. When this prayer was composed, the elder Christians still could remember when Christianity was illegal & many of their friends & families were tortured & executed for their faith. One could be expected to die for the faith. Their standards of moral behavior seem unbelievably high today. I’m sure I should fall out of my pew if I ever heard this kind of brazen conviction coming from a Catholic pulpit these days.

Nevertheless, I was particularly taken by the phrase, “entangled in difficulties” – which I am. However, despite being afflicted on a minute-to-minute basis by the world, the flesh, & the devil, I hold a joy deep in the chapel of my soul, the place where God is enthroned. This indwelling gives me a certain steadiness, conviction, & joy despite the circumstances of the day. Indeed, the Lord’s yoke is light. What a gift from God that allows us such freedom & peace!

I would also mention that although I am entangled by difficulties, I am also frequently entangled by his wonderful obligations. Like preparing for & teaching my 6th grade religious education class on Sunday mornings. Like the parish Bible & Catechism study groups. Like my classes at Franciscan University. Like practicing an over-ambitious program of chants & hymns just a few minutes before Mass begins. All these things are hectic on the surface, but are truly a source of great joy, because I know it is the Lord who called me to them & provides the graces to see the through. These entanglements, then, truly are happy ones.

Prope est Dominus

The prayers of the Church intensify as the days count down to the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord.

Gradual for the 4th Sunday of Advent:


The Lord is nigh to all that call upon Him;
to all that call upon Him in truth.

Alleluia for the 4th Sunday of Advent:


Alleluia, alleluia.
Come, O Lord, and tarry not;
forgive the sins of Thy people Israel.
Alleluia.

Rejoice, the Lord is near.

Preparing the Way

Preparing for Christmas can really wear you out!

For others, it just freaks them out.

I'm going to visit family in Georgia this weekend. Going about all our buying, giving, traveling, visiting, hosting, cooking, & eating during these holy days, we must not lose sight of why they're holy in the first place.

O Sapientia

http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/213008?eng=y

Book Review - The Words We Pray, Welborn

Amy takes a fresh look into traditional Catholic prayers & arrives at some surprising conclusions about how these ancient words can & should resonate with Catholics today.

From the Sign of the Cross, though the Pater Noster, Ave Maria, Credo, Salve Regina, the Jesus Prayer, Anima Christi, Memorare, Suscipe, Benedictus, Gloria Patri, & others, ending with Amen: all were forged in the crucible of the Faithful’s desire to call upon God & the struggle to live up to the calling. Every one of us experiences the same hopes, joys, & needs expressed by these prayers; & just as important, we don’t offer them alone, but in unison with countless saints through the ages who prayed them, too. They ground us in something bigger than our own subjective & necessarily limited experience of faith.

Amy provides some really interesting historical background on the origins & development of these prayers, but also some great examples from her own experience. This is a wonderfully edifying book in a day when the patrimony of so great a cloud of witnesses who have gone before us is so readily discarded in favor of the liturgical & spiritual novelty de jour. There are a lot of prayer books, but not too many approachable & engaging books about prayers & praying, especially from a point of view deeply rooted in the two-millenia old - & on-going - tradition of the Church.

H.E. Rating:

4 aspergillum shakes

Rorate caeli desuper

Since it's raining - & since many folks (including me) often, sadly, equate whether it's a good day or a bad day according to whether it's raining or not - I thought this 2-part post was appropriate.

Remember, it's reigning.
. . .

From Advent & Christmas with Fulton J. Sheen:

"Many good souls are hungry to do great things for God... They would be martyrs; but when a meal is late, or a bus is crowded, when the theatre is filled..., or the bacon overdone, they are upsert for the whole day. They miss the opportunities for loving God in the little things He asks of them."
. . .

Introit for the 4th Sunday of Advent:

Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above & let the clouds rain the just; let the earth be opened & bud forth a Saviour.

The heavens show forth the glory of God & the firmament declareth the work of His hands.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

http://www.christusrex.org/www2/cantgreg/cantus/in_rorate_caeli_desuper.mp3

Be Brave & Linger

Take a look at this crèche...

Now imagine really being there as it really was: the darkness, the animal noises, the mustiness, the filth, the loneliness. Did anyone even care that a pregnant woman & her husband were stuck out in the cave where the animals were penned up? I’m sure none of us would have been too happy to have to spend the night in such a place.

Now consider that this stall was the point of entry for God into the world: the portal between heaven & earth.

Out of all the imaginable ways that God could come us, why this one? It wasn’t a random occurrence; it was chosen. Why? To bring us closer to the Mystery. Few Protestants nail up a crucifix in their home, but I would venture even fewer do without a crèche. There is something irresistibly approachable about this man, this woman, this child. Abp. Sheen said we can’t love something we can’t get our arms around. So, it naturally draws us into the story. How did they wind up there? Will they be OK? Who are these visitors? What happens next?

Ah, there’s the rub. In times past, after the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary came the Sorrowful Mysteries. Even the disinterested may not have such a problem with a little baby & “Peace on earth, good will towards men.” Nice sentiments, no? Yet, why the infant God comes to us in this destitution is directly connected to his mission: to pay the ransom for our sins with his life. To offer perfect obedience, even unto death on a cross. And to call us to that same single-minded devotion. Everyone is smiling in the Christmas card depictions of the Nativity. No one is smiling at Golgotha. The manger is easy. The cross is hard.

So, many stop & admire the serenity of the moment, but then continue on. It is a brave soul that stops & lingers. Every child birth is a miracle, but the birth of God into his creation is different. It means something vast, demands something absolute. The world is now different; its purpose now different; its destination now different. We, too, are called to this transformation.

Gaudete! Dominus prope

Yesterday was Gauete Sunday – the 3rd Sunday of Advent. I went on a special shopping trip for a Roman rose tie just for the occasion. Roman rose is a particularly elusive color – definitely is not pink! – a bit redder & rustier - more towards salmon, without being that. Fr. Z has a post all about that: http://wdtprs.com/blog/2008/12/a-gaudete-question-revisited-real-priests-wear-rosacea/

Here are photos of Father Orr in his beautiful vestments as worn on Laetare Sunday some time ago:
http://www.knoxlatinmass.net/gallery/Laetare2006/Laetare.htm

But what do we have to be joyful for? The economy has tanked. Layoff’s everywhere. Be joyful? Are you nuts?

Well, we aren’t just joyful over nice weather or our favorite team winning or a particularly good piece of pie. The children of God possess an infinitely more valuable inheritance.

Despising not prophetic utterances - & not be being bothered to distinguish between them & just running my mouth – I told my kids yesterday that Christians must be always joyful, even when undergoing treatments for brain cancer or heart problems, as family members of some of my kid’s have. Joyful for brain cancer? We’ll discuss redemptive suffering another day. In any case, we rely not on fates & fortunes, nor health & wealth, nor on the economic weather, nor on political forces. Heaven forbid we rely on ourselves!

Our joy comes from this incredibly simple, but easily displaced idea:

...God created us
......God loves us
.........God will save us if we let him
............Everything else will pass
...............God’s love remains forever

These other things are important & we must attend to them, too, as they can help us toward or thwart us from God’s love. But even the briefest & most pain-wracked life must be a joy, because it is a gift from the God who is all-good. It is an opportunity to know him, love him, & serve him. And to be happy with him forever.

Rejoice! …The Lord is near.

Pointless Question of the Day

Why do cats like to sit under Christmas trees?

...

Maybe they're thinking, "Why don't humans like to sit under Christmas trees?"

"I am your most merciful Mother"

A great sign
appeared in
the sky:

a woman clothed
with the sun,

with the moon
under her feet,

and on her head
a crown of twelve
stars.

- Rev 12:1




From today's entry in Advent & Christmas with Fulton J. Sheen:

"In what does your life consist except two things: Active duties; and passive circumstances. The first is under your control; do these in God's name. The second is outside your control; these submit to in God's name. Consider only the present; leave the past to God's justice, the future to his Providence. Perfection of personality does not consist of knowing God's plan, but in submitting to it as it reveals itself in the circumstances of life. There is really one shortcut to sanctity... abandoment to the Divine Will."

Our Lady of the Americas, Ora pro nobis.

Book Review: Treasure in Clay, Sheen

This post is the first in what I hope to be a series of mini-reviews on the various books I’ve read. I will also dive back a bit into the cranial archives to bring out a few older reads of note. The listings in the "Books Recently Read" side bar will link to the reviews. Hopefully, this will be useful to someone, even if it’s just me - in reminding me what I’ve already read & what it was about!

Treasure in Clay, Fulton J. Sheen

I’ve noticed in Religious Ed class, my students’ eyes glaze over & get increasingly droopy as I unload doctrine after doctrine on them, but they all perk right up whenever I say, “Let me tell you what happened to me when I was your age …”

There’s something about a story that catches our attention. The life story of one of world’s great story-tellers is every bit as intriguing as you might suspect it would be. But what is notable is not just what he did, but what it meant; & not just what it meant, but what it means in light of the Paschal Mystery.

Great teachers never stop teaching. His razor-sharp intellect, clear spiritual sight, & penchant for the moment allowed him to see grace & opportunity all around. Everyone he encountered, in any situation, was an opportunity to teach, to evangelize, to call to conversion, to impart the faith with love. Abp. Sheen loves the Lord Jesus fiercely; his story provides us a compelling witness to enkindle the fire of love within us, also.

H.E. Rating:

5 aspergillum shakes

Vos estis lux mundi

This Fox News story about the Mumbai attacks seems to speak directly tomy earlier post about the moral weight of technology: http://happyentanglements.blogspot.com/2008/12/trophy-of-gaius.html

We can only make moral judgements in light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Period. While the Natural Law can be of service to the Gospel in engaging those without faith, its use is limited in the spiritual battle over technology. Man is a master of self-deception & rountinely convinces himself that even the most indefensible & heinous crimes are not only justifiable, but actually the right thing to do.

Some reject the Gospel - either openly or in their minds & hearts, some actively fight to extinguish it, others hold it at a distance lest it demand something of them, others twist it to their convenience. But since there will always be some that reject the Gospel, there will be a force of sin & destruction in the world until the Lord comes to set everything aright.

So, do we just roll over & die?

Well, the Holy Father stated in his 12-Nov-08 address, "Without Christ, the future is dark." But he also affirmed that "Christians know that the light of Christ is stronger and hence they experience a hope that is not vain, a hope that gives certainty and courage to face the future."

"You are the light of the world."

Implies darkness, no? The opening of John's Gospel says the Light came into the world & shines in the darkness, "but the darkness could not overcome it." Interesting that the Latin word is Comprehenderunt - not overcome, but comprehend. The darkness did not comprehend it. The Gospel just doesn't make sense to those without the light of Christ. It always looks foolish when compared to the intellectual fashions of the day.

"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

Yet, we are not called to simply sit back & wait; we must engage the world now. In the same address, Benedict says we all bear "responsibility before Christ for the world and for our fellow man." He says, "We have to work to ensure this world opens to Christ, that it is renewed... to live our lives courageously." He certainly does not rule out the power of prayer, but shows how prayer & work go together. This work includes the courageous witness of the Gospel to others by our lives in word & deed - on one hand to scientists, governments, corporations, & on on the other to our neighbors, families, & even ourselves.

To paraphrase Chesterton, if we want to improve the human condition, we must put more effort into determining what we should do, instead of simply what we can do.

Rise & Shine!

Just wanted to share this morning's beautiful sunrise!


Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto! Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Immaculate Mary, Thy praises we sing...

"I exult for joy in the Lord, my soul rejoices in my God; for he has clothed me in the garment of salvation and robed me in the cloak of justice, like a bride adorned with her jewels." Is 61:10
- Entrance Antiphon for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

Photo: Marian altar, Heiliggeistkirche, Munich, Germany

Dear Saint Nick...

I know you’re probably real busy up there, so I’ll keep it short.

All I want is to be a saint like you, to live in heaven forever with the Lord Jesus & that as many people as possible can come with me & be saints too. Think you can help me that that? Thanks.

And you know that thing about knockin’ Arius upside the head at the Council? That was Awesome!!! I know it’s bad to fight and stuff, but I’m sure it was for his own good. After all, he didn’t think Jesus was God; and if he wasn’t God, then he couldn’t really do anything to help us, could he? I mean, he’d just be, like, a really nice Sunday school teacher or something. So, thanks for makin’ sure we don’t believe any of that weird stuff now.

And even before we get to heaven, can you help us all to get along with each while we’re down here? You followed the way of Jesus & really cared a lot about helpin’ other people. So can you help us to do that, too? If we all really loved each other & tried to help each other out as best we could, this would be a pretty great place.

Anyway, that’s everything. I hope you enjoy your day. I guess since you’re in heaven, you enjoy every day, huh? I can’t wait to meet you in person to see if you look like the pictures. Thanks for helping to show us the way.

Love,

Mark

Ever Ancient, Ever New

An interlinear Bible is nice thing to have. I am frustrated at the lack of good & readily accessible Catholic Bible study materials, so I use The New Greek-English Interlinear New Testament with the New Revised Standard Version New Testament (Ed. J.D. Douglas. Trans. Robert K. Brown and Philip W. Comfort. Wheaton: Tyndale, 1990). I find something surprising & thought-provoking nearly every time I open it up. Here is the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew's Gospel:






















Cleaning it up a bit, one might have …

Our one Father in the heavens,
Let your name be revered,
Let your kingdom come,
Let your will be done on earth as in heaven.

Give to us our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors,
And do not bring us into temptation,
But rescue us from the evil one.

Now, I know this will get some folks really riled up – messin’ with the Lord’s Prayer and all. People are very passionate about the issue of language. It is certainly on the Church’s front burner, as the controversy surrounding the new lectionary illustrates.

I’ll write more about this issue of language later. But the question that prompted this post is:

How would you respond if the Church introduced a new English translation of the Lord’s Prayer like the one above? Why?

Final thought: As we prepare during Advent for the coming of the Kingdom, remember that it isn’t something in the distant past we celebrate, or something off in the distant future. It happens today. Right now. Wherever you happen to be. Whatever you happen to be doing…

Fruit + Cake = Well, guess...

This admittedly odd post resulted from the conspiring of two seemingly unrelated happenings:

1) 1 lb. fruitcakes at the Wiegel's in Vonore are 2 for $3.99, or something like that.

I mean, seriously, aside from gag gifts, who buys & eats this stuff? Seriously!?!

2) The erudite Fr. John Zuhlsdorf has an entry on his great blog about alternative gifts folks might want to buy from the various religious institutions that make a living by the work of their hands: http://wdtprs.com/blog/2008/11/christmas-gifts-from-convents-and-monasteries/

So, when shortly afterwards I received a catalog from Gethsemani Farms, (http://www.gethsemanifarms.org/) - that being the DBA name for the Trappist monks in Kentucky - I felt that higher powers were calling me to action. So I ordered a fruicake. A 2 & 1/2 pouder.

What's the verdict?

Well, if you're looking for light-n-fluffy, you might want to keep looking. But this is a real cake, stuffed full of all kinds of good stuff, & glazed with Kentucky bourbon. It really is delicious, but don't let your eyes get too big for your stomach. I probably would have been alright starting with the amount I had left over!

Thanks, Brothers. You done good.

BTW, Fr. Christian proposes an alterative to the usual spending madness that typically preceeds Christmas: http://blessedisthekingdom.blogspot.com/.

The Trophy of Gaius

Not really sure where this fits, but I still think it's pretty cool.

My understanding is that St. Peter's basilica (from the Greek basileus, king) is the biggest church in the world. Fr. David commented that there are markers on the floor showing how various other famous churches measure up.

Believing firmly that God has a great sense of humor, I can't help but note that this church is built directly over the tomb & bones of Peter. So, Jesus did build his Church upon the Rock. I can't wait to go someday. Over at Amy Welborn's blog, Charlotte was Both (http://amywelborn.wordpress.com/), she is meticulously documenting her trip to Rome & exploring all its wonders. I know envy is a cardinal sin, but...

Here's a couple of Google Earth photos of St. Thomas the Apostle in Lenoir City, Tennessee - one from around 2002 & the other from 2006. The kingdom of God arriving indeed!

Technology sometimes gets a bad rap. Although it is often used for a lot of bad things; in itself, technology is morally neutral. Remember, it is also used for some really good things, too. Our job is to distinguish. In any case, Google Earth never ceases to amaze me.

...

BTW, there are numerous sources of info on the tomb of St. Peter & the Trophy of Gaius - including lots from consiracy theorists - but here are a couple of reliable ones:

http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Necropolis/Trophy.htm

http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Monuments/Saint_Peters_Basilica/History.htm

Alma Redemptoris Mater

The ancient liturgy has something (many things) beautiful that is missing from the new: a seasonal Marian antiphon sung just after the Ite, the close of Mass. And, we at Happy Entanglements are big on Marian hymns. There are different antiphons offered in the different liturgical seasons. As you may have guessed, the antiphon for Advent is Alma Redemptoris Mater.

And these hymns are ancient, renewing a deep connection with those that have gone before us professing the Faith. Both the words & the melody are attriuted to Hermannus Contractus, who will have passed to his reward a thousand years ago come 2054! Truly no man is an island, & no one gives themselves the gift of faith. Yet, when the beautiful & ancient gift from our fathers has been so disregarded, the young grow up without ecclesial roots & thus the faith of so many has withered in the heat of the noonday sun. In a day when change itself seems to be the highest virtue, I thank you, Hermannus, for this Advent gift!

http://www.unavox.it/MP3/Canti_mp3/Alma_Redemptoris_Mater.mp3

Alma Redemptoris Mater, quae pervia caeli porta manes,

et stella maris, succurre cadenti surgere qui curat populo.

Tu quae genuisti, natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem;

Virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore sumens illud Ave,

peccatorum miserere.

...

Loving Mother of our Savior,

thou open gate leading us to heaven,

and Star of the Sea,

help thy fallen people,

help all those who seek to rise again.

Maiden who didst give birth,

all nature wondering,

to thy holy Lord Creator;

Virgin before and always

who received from Gabriel's mouth

this message from heaven,

take pity on us poor sinners.

...

Postscript: A note from a friend about Hermannus - "Incidentally, Hermannus Contractus is also credited sometimes with the Salve Regina too. I heard a talk by Fr. Benedict Groeschel who first described his horribly deformed face and body -- so ugly that it would have been impossible for him to have lived outside the monastery to which he had been consigned shortly after birth -- and his generally pitiful circumstance at some length, before winding up with the remark that it somehow seemed altogether appropriate that someone who suffered so grievously from his appearance had penned the most beautiful words (he said) the human race has yet produced: "Salve regina, mater misericordiae ...." (You are free to substitute "Alma redemptoris mater ..." here if you like.)"

The Game of the Century

So, sports fans - and all those sore-UGA-losers out there - here's a bit of trivia for you...

• What was the highest-scoring game in college football history?
• Who were the competing teams?
• When & where did it happen?

Well, given the previous post, the highest-socring team may not be so difficult to discern, yet the whole story of the game is the stuff of legend & can be found here:
http://www2.cumberland.edu/about/gotc/index.html

Furthermore, this game was a shut-out & was ended halfway through the second half.

All in a long string of conference & national championships dating back to 1916.

Buzzzzz...

Alright, last post for the night. But, I really couldn't let this one slide by (it might be the last time in a long time). Note Buzz's white jersey in honor of the team's new Flash Gordon "away" uniforms.

Just in case you need to write it down:
November 29, 2008
Sanford Stadium, Athens, Georgia

Georgia Tech 45
Georgia 42


Go Jackets!!!

Bug Zapper

Ah, another new beginning!

While it is true that the world's ailments are not due to a dearth of blogs with people pouring their electronic hearts out over every imaginable thing under the sun, what's one more, then? So, welcome to the front porch of my confused cranium! Grab a cold one & have a seat. Let's watch the bug zapper & talk a spell...

About what? Well, probably a whole bunch about the stuff under About Me. Or ten thousand other things. The context of all is simply that I find one-half of this world & all the people & things in it an endless source of surprise & delight and the other half full of bitterness & pain. I suspect we will explore that a bit.

Hey, could you grab me one while you're up?

New Beginnings

Every morning we wake up, it's a sort of new beginning, isn't it? Yet, some beginnings are surely more meaningful than others, like moving to a new locale or the entry of new people into one's life. Sometimes a new beginning is had by the loss of something, like the loss of a loved one or a state in life. Beginnings are often exciting, but they can also be scary or disorienting. We all desperately seek some stability in life, & occassionally we find ourselves in a blissfully tranquil state for a while. But this stability is an illusion; our lives are shifting & changing continuously.

Yesterday was the first day of the new liturgical year: the first Sunday of Advent. A new beginning. Advent means an arrival. It means being ready for that arrival. Take a moment to think about all the waiting you do. In grocery lines, bank lines, fast food lines, soccer registration lines, airports, classrooms, etc. Has all this waiting made us numb to the process of waiting? Surely. We're tired of waiting. We want it now!

Now, hang on a minute. The kind of waiting we're talking about is a preparation. Important things in life require this. Who wants the stork to drop off the baby ten minutes later? No, the pregnancy is a time of preparation for the couple. A very visible and present sign that won't be ignored. It requires attention & action.

What we wait for is analogous. We await the fulfillment of something we've been promised, somethings that began long ago & carries forward into eternity. We have been swept up in this current of human drama, yet we don't sense the motion. We're a little too close; a little too busy. We're definitely too impatient. And we're not ready.

All time is sacred; every second is a chance at a new beginning. But Advent is a time Holy Mother Church in her wisdom sets aside especially for us to remember that & live it out in an intentional way. We do not wait for something indefinite & unknown, but for something we know and love as close to us as to ourselves; as we ourselves are known and loved. We embrace this season as a time of preparation & conversion; for who is truly ready for this arrival? Yet, our waiting is not - must not be - a time of frustration and anxiety. It is a time of sober, yet even still joyful, preparation. A time of grace. Our waiting is joyful, because of the One for whom we wait. With this, the pain of all the other waitings vanishes.

In here we find a hidden treasure - rather than closing us in on ourselves, this waiting places our attention on the other, the One who comes. In this One, we can then find all the other ones who come our way. This becomes part of our preparation, that we lose ourselves, even if only for a moment, and concern ourselves with others.

And as we prepare, joyful even now of our Beloved who loves us, we also await the day when there will be no more waiting.