Overdue Debt

 One good thing about being sick is people understand that you can't go out and about.  Good.  I can stay home and read.  Since I've discovered Glenn Cooper and Cal Donovan, I've don't have to look around or wonder what to read next.

Next was The Debt.  Since I love history, Catholic history, conspiracy, thrillers, and intrigue, I loved this book.  Cal Donovan in his research has discovered that the Vatican hasn't paid a centuries old debt.  The interest would do more than choke a cow.  No way could it ever be paid.  But before I go into the arrangements to pay off the debt in a way to satisfy all parties, I have to tell you why I was interested.

It's silly.  Still.  The story begins with the Vatican kidnapping of Jason Sassoon.  The year is 1848.  Europe is in turmoil.  The pope has been routed out of Rome.  Napoleon is threatening.  The cardinals need money to hire soldiers to defend the church - they're desperate.  They can't ask the Rothchild's, again, they have to go to another.  Why would a rival of the Rothchild's, the Sassoon's help?  They would pay to get their son back.  This is the start.  But what caught my attention was the name Sassoon.  That's the name of a hair salon in Boston.  My favorite hairstyle was a Sassoon cut.  

I know.  Silly.  Still.  That's why I was rooting for the Sassoon family to be good people and come to an arrangement to satisfy what happened.  The history is true.  There is and was Rothchild's and Sassoon's.  The conspiracies abound in power families, politics, and life.

Cal Donovan discovers this debt and Pope Celestine wants to pay it back but the church has no money.  No one has that kind of money.  And the Sassoon family is split into the good Sassoon's and the bad Sassoon's.  The good are agreeable.  The bad are scheming money hounds.  Fortunately, the good ones hold the majority vote in the business.

So far, I like the endings in Cooper's Vatican novels.  They're satisfactory.  All the lines come together and are tied up neatly.  

The Dead Tell Tales

 Since I've been sick all week, I was looking for books to read.  I saw Covenant of the Dead by Glenn Cooper on Facebook.  The Boston locale, murdered nuns, and it looked like a series.  Have I found a new Three Pines Mysteries? 

I hope so.  I could just picture the locales.  Been there, many times.  The major characters are Sister Elisabetta Celestino and Cal Donovan. Boston Police Detectives Santos and Trinh, are important, too.

Three nuns are murdered and there was nothing stolen except their rosaries.  Eli (Sister Elisabetta) and Cal pay a visit to the nuns.  Then in the Boston Globe, there's news that the murderer is a priest with a red nose. That fits the description of only one priest and he's accused.  He suspiciously dies before going to trial.

Eli and Cal pay a visit to the medium that said a priest with a red nose did it.  There's a picture above the mantel of Arthur Conan Doyle--think Sherlock Holmes.  It seems he had been to this very house and had a seance.  

That was over a hundred years ago and the Bostonians rioted to have these necromancers out of their city. A riot broke out and the medium's four children burned to death.  She blamed the nuns because they were very vocal with their rosaries and singing.  Mmmmmm.  Keep that in mind.

More tragedy to the medium's family.  Her husband and only remaining child were in a car accident.  Husband died and the daughter had to have her legs amputated.  This is the daughter who earns her living doing seances.  

Meanwhile, back in academia (Eli and Cal are professors at Harvard Divinity School).  They contact people in the know to look up Arthur Conan Doyle and Boston seance. Their research also uncovers similar nuns' deaths, dating back a hundred years.  After putting two and two together, rather parenthetical equations, the answer is revealed.

That's not the end.  This is a thriller.  Now that you know who and how, you better move fast to stop more murders.  

Judas' Guilt

LECTIO:     John 13: 21-27

After He had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me."
     His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant.  One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.  Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, "Ask Him which one he means."
     Leaning back against Jesus, he asked Him, "Lord, who is it?"
     Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish."  Then, dipping the piece of bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon.  As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
    "What you are about to do, do quickly," Jesus told him,

STUDIO:

Note that Judas must have been sitting next to Jesus.  They were sharing the same bowl.  That is an honor and makes Judas' betrayal even more egregious. What was Judas' thinking and feeling?  Because Jesus knew what he was going to do and Jesus told him to go do it, does Judas think Jesus wants him to do it?

MEDITATIO:

Judas should have never put himself in this position.  As much as I sympathize with Judas, Judas did choose to betray Jesus.  Well, they all abandoned Jesus, in effect, they all betrayed Jesus.  Oh Judas, I wish you could have asked Jesus for forgiveness.  

ORATIO:

Lord, have mercy on Judas.  I know he had free will and chose to betray you, but doesn't his returning the money show that he was sorry he did it?  

CONTEMPLATIO:

May the Holy Spirit keep me from choosing betrayal to God.  Help me to never put myself in a position that Judas did.  That would be so easy.  Judas misunderstood Your mission.  I'm afraid I would have to.  Lord have mercy on such as me.

RESOLUTIO:

I hope I remember to pray before I make decisions.  Holy Spirit be my guide.

 

"Stylin"

 Why do I solicit fashion advice from a man who wears a suit from 30 years ago?  Actually, I didn't ask his advice.  He was being helpful and told me that my shirt was buttoned wrong.  

Half tucking in a top is supposed to define your waist.  This picture is what I was trying to do.  

Donkey was a Good Guy

 In explaining Holy Week to my granddaughter, I began with Palm Sunday. Jesus is in a parade riding on a donkey.  People are waving palms, like we wave little flags.  Hard to imagine what is going to happen in a week.  Anyway, back to the story.  Jesus' donkey.

I couldn't find a donkey to illustrate that Jesus chose humble transportation, rather than a majestic horse, elephant, camel, or a carriage.  A donkey.  All I could find was a chia pet donkey.  Hey, I work with what I have.  I made it work.  Kindof.  

It's not so bad.  It's the donkey from Shrek, and this donkey is a good donkey.  Everyone loves him.  My granddaughter thought that Donkey would be proud to carry Jesus.  She got it.

With Help from My Friends

 The Nine by Gwen Strauss is a true story of WWII prison experiences.  The author's great aunt Helene was one of the nine who escaped a German labor camp, near the end of the war. I usually put myself in stories, which is why these nine interested me.  If you were escaping any prison, don't you think the chances of being caught would increase, the more people involved?  Some wag once said that three can keep a secret if two are dead.  This is why I am amazed that nine agreed to try to escape, never mind execute the escape and traipse across Germany. And the first thing I would do, once out, would be to scatter, and definitely not tell each other where you are headed. They did none of this.  They stayed together as a group and would not let anyone fall behind, even when they wanted to.  It worked.

The journey was a ten day walk from the Leipzig labor camp to France.  Imagine what they looked like.  Nine rag-tag women walking along, some still in prison uniform, some barefoot, dirty, smelly, skinny like walking dead.  I'm surprised no one reported them to the Germans.  I'm also surprised that people helped them.  I can see helping one, but nine!!  The people themselves hardly had food, how could they scrounge enough to feed nine! These women weren't Jewish.  They were resistance fighters, from different countries.  They met in prison, helped each other, and agreed to escape together.

The story made me cry.  I am always amazed at the torture humans can inflict on each other.  Death would be preferable. There were heartening moments in the prison camp.  The women told each other their favorite recipes.  They sang songs.  They became a chosen family.

Surprisingly, after being home a few years, they were reluctant to tell their stories.  Sometimes, someone would write about it, but relatives weren't interested.  I found this very strange.  But this is why the author, a grandniece, wrote the book. Gwen Strauss did extensive research. There are pictures, notes, acknowledgements, and a bibliography. It is a strong, powerful narrative.

The author's research took her to interview the few remaining women, their relatives and even some of the people they encountered on their trek from the prison to France.  None of these women were happy or even had a good life afterwards.  That damn war ruined everything. However, the story is true and an important part of history to never forget.

 

 

 

Earthen Vessels

 People are born sinful.  It's our nature to always have this desire and even misunderstanding to choose badly.  Thank God for His grace.  This doesn't negate our goodness.  Our chosen presidents are not chosen for their moral leadership.  Even those who are chosen for their moral leadership, may choose wrongly, or what seemed like the correct choice, history has proven otherwise.  I'm thinking of the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the handling of Giordano Bruno and Galileo.  

We are earthen vessels, after all.  2 Cor 4:7. Lord have mercy.