Those Who Know, Know

 Today, I brought my 94-year-old friend to her doctor.  Afterwards, we went to lunch.  I have to laugh at our conversation.  I was telling her about my interaction with a mutual acquaintance of ours.  We knew who we were talking about without knowing her name.  It went something like this.

You know what's her name, the one who's always talking about living in England.

Who?

I can't think of her name.  But she's tall, maybe the tallest woman in the Senior Center.

Oh yeah.  I think I know whom you mean.

Yes, she has naturally curly hair, white.

Oh yes, yes.  I can't think of her name, either.  She sometimes works the register, in the cafeteria.

You got it.  Yes her.

Well, what about her?  

She's the one who told me that if you eat 12 grapes at midnight--one for each of the 12 months, you'll have good luck.

Well, what's her name should know.  She always wins our raffle.

Friends of God

Friends of God Homilies by Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, is a book I used for meditation.  I read something every day.  

This is a book of 18 homilies written during the 1940's. They are simple, something even I could understand.  Yet, they contain doctrine and a theologian's clarity of explanations. 

They are perfect for discussions with friends and God.

 

The Deacon's Homily

 Today, Deacon Ron Gerwatowski, gave the homily to Luke 2: 41-52.  He talked about losing his daughter, on a Fourth of July. This tied in nicely with the Gospel about finding Jesus in the temple.  

A parent losing a child is a nightmare.  Fortunately, I have never had the experience.  My children were always hanging on me.  But I can relate to the feeling of a child losing their mother.

Back in the 1950's, my family didn't have a car. We walked to a corner store and shopped.  It was a small store, like 7-Eleven, Cumberland Farms, etc.  The aisles were small compared to Big Y, Stop & Shop, etc.  

I was around five years old and still remember that feeling of looking up and not seeing my mother.  She was only around the corner--less than 10 steps away.  

Now back to the Deacon's homily.  He spoke of how parents take care of their children and then twenty plus years, those same children are taking care of their parents.  

It struck me that no priest could have given a better homily.  They don't know that feeling of fear, of losing a child, nor will they ever experience their child taking care of them.  Priests aren't parents.

Growing Up Too Fast

 Since the author, Chris Whitaker wrote All the Colors of the Dark, which I loved and still think about, I picked up another Chris Whitaker book, We Begin at the End.

This is another, mystery, thriller, and riveting story.  Again, the story is about a teenager.  There is another handicapped teen in the story.  In All the Colors of the Dark, Thomas Nobles has symbrachydactyly. Thomas Nobles had an undeveloped hand. Again, another mother is unable to care properly for her children and the child takes care of her.  There's a good cop in both stories.  Both take place in the USA.

The cop, Walk, befriended our hero, Duchess.  The plot involves Duchess and her little brother, Robin.  When their mother is murdered, the kids go to live with their grandfather.  Duchess is a tough nut.  She swears and takes no sh*t.  Her comebacks, although course and rude, will make you laugh.  They are quick and unexpected and usually make her opponent back off.  She makes everyone back off.  

Unfortunately, Duchess keys one of her mother boyfriends' car.  Worse, she burned down the bar where her mother worked.  The bar's owner is after Duchess because before she burned the bar down, she took the bar's camera tape, that would have her on it, torching the place.

Her grandfather is murdered by the bar's owner.  Duchess knows he's looking for her.  Social services is looking for a home for Duchess and Robin.  The problem is Duchess.  Robin would be easy to place, but not Duchess.

She takes off for Robin's sake.  She hides at Thomas Nobles, and other places and comes back a year later.

Meanwhile, the man who went to trial for killing Duchess' and Robin's mother is proved not guilty, thanks to the sheriff, Walk, who always knew him as a good guy.  Everything is tied together by finding out who the father of Duchess and Robin is.  Then it all makes sense.

The book is a page turner.  You root for the kids.  You laugh at Duchess' descriptions and antics and hope she doesn't end up bad.  There is so much to say.  It's a good story.  The character descriptions are exquisite.  The descriptions of the landscape make you want to live there.  Chris Whitaker writes very well.

Live and Learn

 I am old. I can positively state that wisdom doesn't grow with age.  Times change and old people can't keep up with the changes.  I was given a pair of snow boots for Christmas. This picture shows you exactly what they are.  Note the laces.  Thinking the boot was "hands free slip on," I almost twisted my back trying not to fall.  

I could not figure out how to get my foot down into the shoe.  The elasticized laces didn't expand to allow me to perform that maneuver.  

Just before I resigned myself to returning the gift, I picked up the boot and examined the laces.  I put my finger under the first crisscross to stretch it and much to my surprise, I unlaced it!

!!!!!!!

Lo and behold, the lace wasn't elasticized.  It was a real shoe lace, or in this case, a real boot lace.  Undoing the lace allowed the boot to open wide, to receive my foot.

Live and learn.

Mary Jane

You know what's weird.  The noun Mary Jane.  My Walking Group was at breakfast, the other day.  I was telling them a story about my friend, Mary Jane.

We were at a long table, so not everybody could hear everything.

The person on the end thought we were talking about marijuana, since Mary Jane is a nick name for it.

Another thought we were talking about the shoes, named Mary Janes.

Others, thought we were talking about the little candies, Mary Janes.

I forget what the story was, about Mary Jane, because we were laughing so hard.

Do Not Lose Heart

Looking around the violence in today's world, is enough for anyone to lose their mind.

Never mind, countries who are at war.  We have people shooting children, in our own country.  But try to remember that we're not made for this world, with all its trouble.  Someday, it will all be behind us, when we are in heaven with God.

Keep the faith.  This is not really our home.  We are made for more.

Joyous Worship

 Father John linked the Old Testament to the New, in this morning's homily.  Today's homily was about Mary's visit to Elizabeth.  Luke 1: 39-56  The baby in Elizabeth's womb leaped.  In 2 Samuel 6: 14-22, David is so happy that he danced for joy.  Both are expressions of joy.  Both are expressions of worship. 

Mother/Daughter Relationships

Things I wish I told My Mother, by Susan Patterson, Susan DiLallo and James Patterson is not a keeper only because you will have enjoyed it so much, you have to pass it on. It is perfect for a ladies book club.  Everyone who grew up with a mom will relate.

The mom is Dr. Liz, a perfectionist.  The daughter is Laurie, an artist type.  It is hilarious to see the mocking, snide humor, and jokes, along with the emotional touches of love.

The story begins with Dr. Liz having a heart attack.  While in the hospital, Laurie, to cheer her mother up, suggests a trip together.  Off to Paris they go.  The description and food, I'm sure, will boost tourism.  It's beautiful.  It's fun.  Money is no object; it's not a concern.

Nice.

After Paris, they go to Norway, to look up ancestors.  Laurie sees her mother in a new light.  She sees where she came from and understands her mother in new ways.

The ending is a double take.  By that, I mean that you will have to turn back a few pages and see if a mistake was made and were you reading it correctly.  You'll figure it out and enjoy it all the more.

Zechariah

 In Luke 1:5-25, we see Zechariah doubting the message the angel, the Lord sent.  I always felt this was unfair because Mary doubts also, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"  Luke 1: 26-38.

I've reconsidered.  Mary is very young.  She's just a girl, after all.  Zechariah is a grown man.  More than that, he's a priest.  He should have known scripture.  

Therein, lies the difference.  

The Right Reasons

 A Benedictine monk told the story of a young monk asking his spiritual director if his reasons for becoming a monk were shallow, or just plain dumb.   The elder monk said that your reasons for becoming a monk don't really count, compared to the reasons why you stay.

I like this.  I also think the same saying could apply to marriage.  

Blessing of the Houses

It is the custom that those chapters and individual people, who identify with the Sisters of Bethany, pray for each other.  We call this "The Blessing of the Houses."  Over the years, some chapters have closed, and some new ones have started. A new Blessing of the Houses had to be written.  Here is my chapter's new Blessing.

Our Lady of Mercy

MCI Norfolk

Blessing of the Houses

All powerful, ever loving and merciful God, St. Dominic, Blessed Lataste, and all the angels and saint in heaven, receive our prayers for blessing of the following houses:

Lord have mercy...Lord have mercy.

Christ have mercy...Christ have mercy.

Lord, hear our prayers...Christ, graciously hear us.

St. Mary Magdalene...Bless our sisters of Bethany in France.

Jesus in the Eucharist...Bless our sisters of Bethany in Belgium.

Our Lady of Peace and St. Niklaus of Flue...Bless our sisters of Bethany in Switzerland.

St. Albert the Great...Bless our sisters of Bethany in Germany.

St. Catherine of Siena...Bless our sisters of Bethany in Italy.

Holy heart of Jesus...Bless our sisters of Bethany in the Netherlands.

St. Joseph...Bless our sisters of Bethany in Latvia.

Mary Mediatrix of all graces...Bless our brothers in the fraternity of Belgium.

Our Lady of the Rosary...Bless our brothers in the fraternity of Huntsville, Texas.

Our Lady of Mercy...Bless our brothers and sisters in the fraternity of Norfolk.

Mother Admirable...Bless our novitiates

Our Lady of the Church...Bless our Lataste fraternities.

St. Francis and St. Clare...Bless our Franciscan Sisters of Milwaukee.

Risen Lord...Bless our Dominican sisters and brothers in the USA.

St. Dominic...Bless our brothers at Santa Sabina and throughout the world.

Our Holy Founders...Bless us.

Blessed Lataste, Apostle of Prisons...Bless us.

A Pro-life Story

 All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker is unforgettable.  I haven't written anything on this blog for five days because I've been immersed in Saint and Patch's lives.  This book has it all.  It's a thriller, for sure.  It's a police story.  It's a romance.  It's a murder mystery.  It makes you re-think your perceptions of right and wrong.  You see two sides of every event.

I call it a pro-life story because the political debate between abortion and pro-life is mentioned, here and there, but when the story moves on and you see it in itself is the defacto debate.  

Where to begin?

Style--beautiful prose.  There are images that are poetic. I love short chapters.

Plot--A teenager saves a girl's life.  He is kidnapped and kept captive but saved by his best friend.  While captive, he is befriended and falls in love with another captive.  The rest of the novel is a search for this captive girl.

Theme--The effects of traumas on people and their relationships with others.

Setting--Mostly Missouri but all over the USA.

Characters--Patch, boy who was born with one eye.
                    Saint, Patch's best friend.
                    Nix, Police chief
                    Sammy--Humorous foil in the story.
                    Norma--Saint's Grandmother
                    Tooms--doctor in the town
                    Misty--Patch's crush
                    Grace-illusive captive
                    Eli Aaron--bad guy

The book begins with two young teens.  Patch is often bullied because he's poor, skinny, has a patch on an eye, and his mother is a druggie.  Saint's parents have died and she lives with her grandmother.  Saint is a beekeeper and a generous person who befriends Patch and feeds him when she can.

Patch saves Misty from being abducted.  Misty lives.  And.  Patch is gone!!!!!  They find his patch on the ground, but no sign of him.  Misty confides to Saint that even though her abductor was wearing a mask, she recognized the eyes of Dr. Tooms.  

After the townspeople give up looking for Patch, Saint never does.  She also keeps a wary eye on Dr. Tooms.  

Meanwhile, a girl is missing.

One day, Saint brings in some film to be developed and talks to the clerk.  He tells her to stay away from the photographer, Eli Aaron.  He's creepy.  Saints scopes Aaron out and becomes convinced that Eli Aaron kidnaps girls and maybe Patch. 

Saint goes to Eli Aaron's on a pretense and snoops around looking for evidence.  Somehow, the house catches on fire and Police Chief Nix finds Saint and they find Patch.  Eli Aaron escaped.  

Patch tells them about a girl named Grace, who was kept down the basement with him.  They don't know whether to believe him or not.

More girls are missing.  Dr. Tooms is arrested and sentenced to life.

Life goes on.  Misty and Patch become an item.  Saint has a boyfriend, Jimmy.  Patch takes over his mother's house cleaning jobs to earn money.  One time, while cleaning Sammy's art gallery, Sammy takes an interest in Patch.  It turns out that Patch is a talented artist.  He paints Grace.  He paints all the places, Grace talks about.  He also paints all the missing girls.  He and Sammy spread the portraits to help find the girls.  Organizations spring up to look for the girls.  If Patch sells a portrait, he donates the money to an organization that looks for missing girls.

Patch quits school at sixteen and works in mines.  His muscles fill out.  He grows taller.  In fact, he is very handsome, and his patch makes him look interesting and exotic.  It's an asset.

The night of Misty's prom, her father secretly has a talk with Patch.  He pays him a substantial amount of money to break off the relationship.  Patch takes it because he knew that he and Misty came from different worlds and would never be a good match.  With the money, Patch buys his mother's house and now their landlord will never bother them, again.

Misty is devasted that Patch dropped her.  But it is the end, for now.

Patch takes off, working here and there, to get by, while he searches for his Grace.

Saint takes a job working for the police with Chief Nix.  She still keeps tabs on what's going on with Patch.

Misty is going to Harvard.  For kicks, she takes a job in a bar.  Patch, working as a lobsterman, goes into that very bar.  Misty and Patch reconnect.  Patch moves on but has left Misty pregnant.  

When Patch needs money and he doesn't have a job, he robs banks.  Patch gives the money to organizations looking for missing girls.  Saint who is working for the FBI now, captures him and Patch is sent to prison.

Saint marries Jimmy.  Jimmy turns out to be a bad husband.  He doesn't like Saint working for the FBI.  When Saint becomes pregnant she doesn't know what to do.  She considers abortion, and the reader is led to believe that she did kill the baby.  She gives it up for adoption and gets a divorce.  There is mention, here and there, in the story, of anti-abortion protestors.

When Patch comes out of prison, he goes home.  One day, he sees Misty with a young girl and knows instantly that this girl is his own daughter. Her name is Charlotte.  Misty has cancer.

When Misty dies, Patch becomes her caretaker.  But when Patch meets Jimmy, Saint's "ex", Patch punches him out, for the way he treated Saint.  Jimmy hits his head and dies.  Patch is in prison again.  

While Patch is in prison, he hears a fellow prison describe his hometown, and it sounds exactly where Grace lived.  When Patch asked the inmate what the name of the town was, he was shocked to hear, "Grace, Alabama."  Patch instantaneously knew that was where Grace was.  He had to see it.

The rest of the story would be a spoiler.  Sorry.

Failure Isn't the End

 There's no such thing as failure.  You just find out what works and what doesn't.  Move on.  In the Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah, Dr. Julia Cates is publicly demonized because one of her patients shot up a school.  Meanwhile, her sister, Ellie, has need of her.  A "wolf child" has emerged from the woods.  A little girl seems to have been brought up by wolves.  She doesn't speak.  She's feral.

Julia emersed herself in helping this child.  The love interest is another doctor, Max.  He has his own history.  The two doctors help the little girl.  Actually, the entire town helps her.  It's a small town and they conspire against the media--they agree what to say and do.

Unfortunately, the girl's father turns up.  It's a nightmare.  Who will get custody?  

The story is fascinating and interesting.  I enjoyed the love story and the family dynamics.  Parenthood is examined, as well as the relationship between sisters.  Of course, the good overshadows the bad, as all Kristen Hannah's books prove.

Christmas in Prison

Most people would like a white Christmas.  My "cloistered brothers" are no different.  Christmas times are sad inside prisons.  Their loved ones and cherished memories are out of reach for all of them.  They feel "blue."  It's difficult.

Last weekend, someone had an accident.  He was trying to plug in a frayed wire and sparks flew out and fell on a blanket.  It caught on fire.  60 inmates had to be displaced.  They are not happy.  The administration gave them new mattresses and blankets and placed them here and there.  Some of these guys lost their pictures, cards, books, etc.  Now they have nothing--a mattress and a blanket.  

Fortunately, each block started a collection for the inmates.  They took a bag and everyone contributed what they could: clothes, shaving cream, etc.  It's impressive.

That's Christmas in prison.

Growing Up with Music

 The Great Passion by James Runcie is a book of historical fiction.  The setting is the composer Bach's era--18th century. The major character is Stefan Silbermann. His father sent him to school in Leipzig, for music.  The Silbermann family makes organs, so Stefan knows how to play keyboard instruments and quite a bit about organs.

The story begins with the news that Johann Sebastian Bach has died.  Stefan reminisces--that's the story.  It is a good story.  I read it like I read War and Peace.  I skipped the war and read the story.  In The Great Passion, there is music galore.  I am not a music person.  I didn't know what they were talking about. But I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

Since this is the 18th century, schools are places of terror.  Since Stefan was singled out by Bach, who taught at the school, as someone with promising talent, he was bullied.  In fact, he ran away from school.  Bach, who had a household of children, had Stefan live with him.  What's one more?  

Stefan had a crush on Bach's wife, Anna Magdalena, who had a beautiful voice, but in those days, women weren't allowed to sing in church.  She and Stefan made beautiful music together.  Stefan also made good friends with Bach's oldest daughter, Catharina. 

Bach was a demanding teacher, when it came to music, but a loving father and wise.  He saved Stefan's school career.  I guess you can say, Bach made Stefan the man he became.  

Oplatek

It's interesting that the first meaning morphs into another, but both make sense.  Many things catholic are "both" and "and".

The old custom is that the pope breaks off a piece for his bishops, who in turn bring it to their home diocese, where they break off a piece for their priests.  

Also, watching the Mass celebrant break off a piece of the Body, and drop it into the Blood, unite the two into One.  I think that's a beautiful image.

It is also reminiscent of my own Lithuanian heritage.  Where the father of the family takes unconsecrated communion and breaks off a piece and passes it on, to the rest of the family.  
 

Human Sacrifice

 You know how we're all appalled by Abraham's sacrificing his son--ALMOST.  We can't believe that God would request that.  Even after God stopping the sacrifice, we're relieved.  Still!!! 

Well, it turns out that human sacrifice was not all that uncommon, for the times.  People hearing this story, for the first time, would not react like we do.

Also, remember Jonah?  He was sacrificed to appease the storm god.

You just can't judge different eras and cultures by our own sensibilities.

      Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington D.C.

Original Sin and St. Agustine

 My "cloistered brothers" and I were doing some Lectio Divina on Psalm 51.  We focused in on verse 5.

Surely I was sinful at birth,

    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Most of us, I know I was, thinking of the first sin committed by Adam and Eve, called "original sin."  Steve, leading the group, said that wasn't possible to be in David's mind, when he wrote the psalm.  It seems that the term was used and promoted by St. Agustine, much later.  

Original sin is an Augustine Christian doctrine that says that everyone is born sinful. This means that they are born with a built-in urge to do bad things and to disobey God. 

It explains our desire to choose the bad, the wrong choice.  Original sin affects individuals by separating them from God, and bringing dissatisfaction and guilt into their lives.

That's exactly what happened to Adam and Eve.  They were separated from God.  So, I think that affect, separating oneself from God, was there from Adam and Eve, but there was no name to it.  I think everyone just accepted the fact that we are born sinful.  Agustine gave it a name.  

Grief is Not the End

 Argonauta Book Club is reading Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt.  I finished it in two days!  Yes, it's an easy read, but it's much more.  The characterization hooked me.  Grief is the glue that holds the characters together.  There's Tova, whose husband has recently died.  But she is still grieving over her only son's death, from 30 years, ago.  She is now alone and wondering about living alone.  

Cameron is another major character.  He is still grieving over his mother, who took off when he was a child.  He never knew his father.  I guess he is constantly grieving the fact that he never had a normal childhood.

Lest I forget, Marcellus, the Octopus.  The star of the story.  He's the fulcrum.  Both Tova and Cameron are maintenance workers, in Marcellus' aquarium. The story is how they are related.  Marcellus manages a revelation.  

Everyone moves on.  Grief is dealt with, understood, and even embraced.  Life is what you make it, and grief is not the end.

Constant Conversation

 When you have the desire to improve, to get closer to Jesus, you need to start with prayer.  Luke 18:1, reminds us that we must pray continually and not get discouraged.  Jesus told his disciples in a parable, to pray and not give up. 

    1Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 2saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. 3“There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ 4“For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” 6And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; 7now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?

 Prayer is the foundation of any endeavor.  In order to get closer to Jesus, one needs to be more contemplative--keep Jesus in the forefront of one's mind. Try to maintain a constant conversation with Jesus.

If you forget, go back to Him.  Wouldn't that prove how serious you are in establishing a relationship with Jesus?

Decisions Take Wisdom

 
Life is full of decisions.  My fourteen-year-old granddaughter and I have many discussions.  My favorite occurs when we discuss our decisions. There are a couple of generations between us.  That means different life experiences.  

I am amazed at her boldness.  She does not just accept authority.  She speaks right up and/or refuses to obey.  She would refuse to obey her teacher, and she would confront her, right in him/her face.  I would obey, then go report the teacher to the principal.

Other decisions, we agree on. However, she things money is the most important thing, now, at this time in her life.  But that's because she doesn't have any.  She sees many things she wants but can't purchase them.  She doesn't even get an allowance.  She wants a job and would even quit school, if she could, to work.  See how the immature brain works!  She doesn't have the wisdom to make a good decision.  Yet!  Come Holy Spirit!       

Blood Red Chianti

 Murder in Chianti by Camilla Trinchieri is about a murder in the location of where Chianti comes from.  Nico Doyle moves to this area because his recently deceased came from there, and they traveled back and forth from the USA to Tuscany, often.

Nico is a retired cop, so when a murder happens, he is asked to advise.  The victim used to live in the village but moved to California.  He did very well and returned as a millionaire.  Before he left, he might have left a pregnant girl.  He believes he did, which is why he came back.  Unfortunately, he is murdered before he finds out who really is his daughter. 

The killer would involve a spoiler.  I will tell you this.  The killer was paid well.  Now you figure out who did it.

I read this book in the first place, because I need to read a book about food.

There was a lot of food, in this story.  Nico works in a restaurant belonging to his wife's family.  It becomes his family.  Actually, it's a small village and everyone is family.  It's a cute story that will keep you guessing.

The Senior Center in Winter

 The Franklin Senior Center Scribblers Writing Group is making a story walk around the Senior Center Building.  Since each sign is a limited amount of space, we decided that each of us should write a poem.  It should be seasonal and topical (references to places we Seniors would know.)  Here's my first attempt.

Over the river and through the woods
the Gatra Bus does go.
This cold weather might bring snow,
perfect for December, this I know.

My fingers and toes are cold and red.
Maybe I should have stayed in bed.
My car wouldn't start.
Calling Gatra was very smart.

I must get to the Senior Center:
Bingo, Cribbage, and other adventures
beckon me out and into the cold
for activities, food and friends to behold.

Hope Springs Eternal

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6.

R. (3)  The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
   we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
   and our tongue with rejoicing. 
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Then they said among the nations,
  “The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us;
   we are glad indeed. 
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
   like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those who sow in tears
   shall reap rejoicing. 
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Although they go forth weeping,
   carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
   carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

STUDIUM:

This psalm probably was sung in procession, while on pilgrimage, perhaps for the festival of Tabernacles.  It offers hope and encouragement.  The sadness will lessen.  Have hope.

MEDITATIO:

Nothing last forever, except God, of course.  Grief will lessen.  One even gets used to pain.  God has a plan, and we trust Him.

ORATIO:

Thy Kingdom come.  Restore our fortunes, Lord.

CONTEMPLATIO:

Jesus I trust in You.

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

 A range of emotions have been washing over me, today.  I have to keep Hebrews 13:8, in mind:

Jesus Christ is the Same Yesterday and Today and Forever

It started this morning, as I was entering Mass.  A friend and I who pray the Rosary together on Monday nights, were admiring the Rosary Wall in a small room.  We were commenting on how welcoming and nice that little room was.  Immediately, we were informed that everything in the room will be going out and the room can't be used anymore!

No rosary groups, no bereavement groups, no Bible Study, no prayer groups, no Legion of Mary, etc.  No anything!  Nada~!  We all have to have our groups in the school, from now on.

I was upset.  I guess I was mostly angry.  Don't we have a say?  

I couldn't keep my mind on Jesus.  That made me even more angry and upset.  I was remembering another time, where my prayer group came to have our meeting and saw our belongings, stacked up, outside a locked door.  We were displaced by the food pantry.

That was a shock.  Of course, we could understand how important a food pantry is and would have precedence over a prayer group.  Still!  It was like coming home and finding out that your landlord threw all your belongings out on the street.

This time, the news wasn't as egregiously shocking as that.  Still, I was saddened.  Since I was at Mass, I was trying to pray.  I was focusing on receiving Jesus in a respectful and loving manner.  It helped because Hebrews 13:8, came to mind.  Everything changes.  Why be upset?  Only God is consistent.  I had calmed down, as I walked home.

I also thought of a friend of mine.  She was having a hard time at work.  They wanted to get rid of her, but didn't want to fire her.  They wanted to make her quit.  She was treated badly.  The last straw was when her desk was moved to the basement!  Imagine!  They said she would be able to concentrate better, when she was alone.  How insulting is that! Now this definitely is something to be upset about, not having my favorite room, is not.

A Lifeline for Prisoners

 What exactly should I pray for when I want to pray for prisoners?

Justice and fairness in the legal system.

Family support and unity.

Protection and safety while incarcerated.

Hope for a better future.

Healing and restoration.

Transformation and a relationship with Jesus.

Peace in times of turmoil.

Wisdom and guidance for both the inmate and their family.

St. Leonard of Noblac (d. 559).
St. Leonard was converted to Christianity at Christmas 496, and went on to serve in the court of Clovis I. As a disciple of St. Remigius, Bishop of Reims, Leonard was granted the prerogative to visit prisons and free anyone held there. He secured the release of a number of prisoners (for whom he has become a patron saint).

Consolation

 

LECTIO:              Baruch 5:1-9

Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery;
    put on the splendor of glory from God forever:
wrapped in the cloak of justice from God,
    bear on your head the mitre
    that displays the glory of the eternal name.
For God will show all the earth your splendor:
    you will be named by God forever
    the peace of justice, the glory of God’s worship.
    
Up, Jerusalem! stand upon the heights;
    look to the east and see your children
gathered from the east and the west
    at the word of the Holy One,
    rejoicing that they are remembered by God.
Led away on foot by their enemies they left you:
    but God will bring them back to you
    borne aloft in glory as on royal thrones.
For God has commanded
    that every lofty mountain be made low,
and that the age-old depths and gorges
    be filled to level ground,
    that Israel may advance secure in the glory of God.
The forests and every fragrant kind of tree
    have overshadowed Israel at God’s command;
for God is leading Israel in joy
    by the light of his glory,
    with his mercy and justice for company.

STUDIUM:

Only a few books speak of the possibility of the Israelites living permanently outside the promise land: Tobit, Baruch, Wisdom, and some of Esther.  The first three aren't in the Hebrew canon and thus are not part of the Jewish or Protestant versions of the Bible.  Apocryphal is the Protestant name for these books.  Catholics call them Deuterocanonical, from the Greek, a second canon, separated from the other.  Baruch tells us about homelessness and foreign existence.  So, Baruch encourages the Israelites to find God in the foreign territory.

     Baruch is for a people who feel abandoned, lost--physically and emotionally.  Baruch helps the people turn to God for help.  Prayer, traditions, hope, and strength to persevere, are Baruch's message.

MEDITATIO:

Presently, my country is very divided politically.  I take these verses to heart.  Israel is at war, again.  Russia is fighting in the Ukraine.  Countries in Southern Africa are revolting.  Drug gangs in Central and South America cause people to come to the USA.  But Baruch says to turn to God.

ORATIO:

Mercy and justice are hoped for, in the Lord.  It certainly isn't here in my world.  Hear our cries, Jesus.

CONTEMPLATIO:

Don't lose hope.  Put on God's cloak of joy.

Princess Alice

 

Poor Alice, had it all and by all, I mean, riches, prestige, love, and also knew penny pinching hardship, distain, fear, and worry.  She lived through wars, civil conflicts, revolts, insane asylums, illness, and always felt isolated and distant due to her deafness.  Her story is told in Alice Princess Andrew of Greece by Hugo Vickers.

She was born in Buckingham Palace because her grandmother, Queen Victoria, wanted all her grandchildren to be born there.  She was hard of hearing and I think as she got older, her deafness worsened.  She learned to lip read in a few languages, but if the man had a bushy mustache, she couldn't.  Consequently, she seemed strange, aloof, and unstable.

She married a Greek prince, but when the Greek monarchy was overthrown, the family had to flee.  She was related to royalty in Germany and Russia, but their reigns were overthrown.  Assassinations were always a threat.  No wonder she had a nervous breakdown.  She spent some time in Switzerland's hospitals, away from her family.  They were ashamed of her and considered her religious obsessions ridiculous.  She was Greek Orthodox and started an order of nuns.  The family laughed at her smoking cigarettes and playing cards in her nun's habit.

She started a hospital and hid Jews from Nazis.  Due to her work, helping the Jews she was awarded the Righteous Gentile honor and is buried in Jerusalem. During WWII, while she was in Switzerland and working in the hospital, she was separated from her family.  Her husband hung out in the south of France and died there.  Her children, by that time, had families of their own and living in different countries.  Her only son, Philip was in an English school.  This boy eventually married Princess of Elizabeth--Queen Elizabeth and he became her consort.

What an eventful life!  The book was interesting, but at times, like all biographies, had too many details.  Queen Victoria's progeny was too hard to keep track.  The author made Alice's life sympathetic and interesting.  I am happy to learn about her.

Listen to Your Body

 The experiment failed.  I tried "intermittent fasting."  It made me miserable.  I did it for a week.  I was nauseous and had a headache, every morning until I ate.  

I fasted from 8 pm to noon, the next day.  After a week of fasting, it didn't work.  Good.  I do better just counting calories.  

I should have known when it was making me sick, that it wasn't for me.  I should have listened to my body.

Christian Engagement

Today's the big day--election day.  I am so happy it's over.  I am so very tired of the election commercials on TV.  I think everyone else is too.  No one talks about it.  People are so divided that we are afraid to bring the subject up.  Personally, I voted by mail, a month ago.  I honestly don't remember my voting choices.  I am so done.

No matter who wins, Jesus is still my King. I think we have to act like Christians, in the beginning.  Think how they began.  They were Jews who followed Christ, subject to the Roman Empire.  The Jews were throwing them out of the temple.  They didn't belong anywhere.  They were a minority.  They had no influence.

I'll say it again.  They had no influence.  How did they change the world?  They stayed true to Jesus.  They loved each other.  They served the poor, cared for the sick, they took in unwanted babies. They worshipped wherever, even in the catacombs. And somehow, their witness won over populations.

Christianity wasn't accepted until the Emperor Constantine accepted it and decriminalized it in the fourth century.  I'll repeat that, too--fourth century.  

Have patience and the humility to accept that you are only doing a small but important part making the Kingdom of God.  Have faith.

 

Improbability

 You have no idea how much I wanted Louise Penny's latest novel to be good.  Her nineteenth mystery finally arrived.  The Grey Wolf continued with the same Three Pines/Quebec/Canadian setting, the familiar characters, the tense suspense was there, the thrill, the fast pace, the heart stopping drama, but the clues, I found unbelievable.

I found myself saying, "Oh c'mon!", numerous times.  How could scraps of paper mean anything? Traveling from one country to another so easily, happen?  

Then I remembered that I always think that of Sherlock Holmes, yet I still enjoyed them.  And I do enjoy Louise Penny's writing.

What sealed the improbability of the clues was the behavior of the monks.  Since I'm Catholic, I know that monks take vows of stability.  The Dominican friars don't, since they work outside their priory; but Gilbertines and Carthusians take a "vow of stability" to NEVER leave their monasteries.  Maybe they could get special permission in extraordinary cases, but not as easily as the monks in The Grey Wolf, to hop from country to country.

The most egregious abnormality was the Confession. The priest who asked a non-ordained brother to hear Confessions for him is a ridiculous scenario. That would never happen, unless the priest was drunk, or on drugs, or had a gun to his head.  A brother without the faculties to hear Confessions would never assent to do that, either, unless he was drunk, or on drugs, or had a gun to his head. Their souls would be in serious jeopardy.  Besides, what was the sin?  No sin was committed.  The deed hadn't been done yet.  There was nothing to absolve.  Just thinking or planning bad things is just venial.  

I think Louise Penny should have had the scenario of Spiritual Direction, instead of Confession.  That's confidential, also.  Brothers, sisters, and trained lay people, can give spiritual direction. Definitely, that's believable.  

There's one other Catholic thing, Penny got wrong.  Catholics should be buried in consecrated ground, not have their ashes spread on a rock.  An abbot would certainly know that.  

It may seem that I didn't enjoy the book.  I did.  Authors often get the Catholic stuff wrong.  And Louise Penny is a wee-bit anti-Catholic, but it really doesn't bother me because I love Armand and all the other characters in Three Pines.  I hope the series doesn't end with Armand dying.  I want him to retire and continue to solve crimes.  He could be chief inspector emeritus.